Five  Tactical  Principles  and 
Uniform  Tactical  Training 

CALDWELL 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 
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ILLINOIS 


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University  of  IUinois  Library 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 
Uniform  Tactical  Training 


V.  A.  CALDWELL 
Major  Twenty-fifth  Infantry 
Schofield  Barracks,  H.  T. 
December  31,  1915 


= R ESS  OF 

:eo.  banta  publishing  co 

VIENASHA.  WIS. 


Copyright  1916 

by 

V.  A.  CALDWELL 


1 


; a 

V-  jt  | wS 


X*  PREFACE 


This  book  teaches  that  uniform  tactical  training 
is  secured  by  having  a simple  and  direct  method  of 
finding  out  tactical  values;  that  any  man  can  use. 

The  method  taught  in  this  book  is,  there  are 
five  tactical  principles  that  state  WHAT  should  be 
done  in  every  tactical  situation.  A tactical  method 
is  valuable  to  just  the  extent  to  which  it  enables 
you  to  put  these  five  tactical  principles  into  prac- 
tice, that  is,  tactical  action  is  valuable  to  just  the 
' extent  to  which  these  five  tactical  principles  will 
be  or  have  been  put  into  practice.  As  these  five 
tactical  principles  are  plain,  definite,  related, 
sequence  statements  of  what  should  be  done,  it 
* will  not  be  difficult  for  any  man  to  ask  himself 
Am  I planning  to  do  or  did  I do  what  these  five 
tactical  principles  said  I should  do,  and  to  what 
extent  have  I done  this. 

This  method  cannot  be  followed  without  pro- 
gressive training  resulting  and  it  will  be  uniform^ 
because  every  one  using  it  estimates  tactical  values 
by  the  same  methods  and  standards. 

V.  A.  Caldwell, 
Major,  23rd  Infantry . 

373617 


This  book  is  dedicated  to  those  who  studied 
the  big  campaigns  first  and 
tactics  later 


CHAPTER  I 

The  purpose  of  military  training  must  first 
be  understood.  The  purpose  of  all  military 
training  is  to  secure  success  in  combat. 

Such  military  training  as  does  not  increase 
the  chances  of  success  in  combat  is  waste  effort 
and  is  therefore  unintelligent.  Such  tactical 
training  as  is  not  adapted  to  combat  conditions 
is  also  unintelligent. 

The  instructor  must  be  able  to  point  out  just 
how  any  part  of  the  military  training  he  is 
teaching  is  adapted  to  assist  in  obtaining  suc- 
cess in  combat.  The  instructor  and  the  reserv- 
ist must  know  and  analyze  each  part  of  their 
military  training  so  well  that  when  circum- 
stances require  them  to  use  any  part  of  it,  they 
will  instinctively  use  it  correctly.  They  must 
know  their  military  training  like  a first-class 
mechanic  knows  his  work. 


5 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


Tactical  training  is  all  directed,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  towards  obtaining  suc- 
cess in  combat.  Therefore  to  study  tactics 
intelligently  you  must  know  the  use  and  mean- 
ing of  each  part  of  tactical  training.  Further 
you  must  know  the  extent  to  which  each  part  of 
tactical  training  assists  in  obtaining  success  in 
combat.  Further  you  must  know  that  the  value 
of  each  part  of  tactical  training  is  not  fixed 
but  varies  with  the  circumstances  and  the 
terrain.  A little  thought  as  to  this  will  con- 
vince you  that  in  any  tactical  situation  it  is 
necessary  to  form  an  idea  of  the  whole  situa- 
tion and  a little  thought  as  to  this  will  convince 
you  that  your  judgment  of  the  situation  is 
always  required. 

The  above  is  brought  in  here  to  emphasize  to 
both  the  instructor  and  the  pupil  that  no  book 
on  tactics  ever  has,  or  ever  will  be  written  that 
will  release  him  from  the  responsibility  of  act- 
ing tactically  on  his  own  judgment.  Books  on 
6 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

tactics  are  written  to  develop  and  instruct  judg- 
ment, not  to  furnish  it.  They  are  not  written 
as  sources  of  excuses  for  poor  judgment  or 
to  take  the  place  of  judgment. 

The  tactical  laws  are  generally  spoken  of  as 
tactical  principles.  They  govern  the  tactical 
actions  of  the  general  and  of  the  private,  of 
the  army  and  of  the  squad.  They  tell  both 
WHAT  tactical  action  they  must  have  if  suc- 
cess is  to  be  expected  and  they  tell  neither  the 
general,  private,  army,  or  squad  HOW  to  do 
tactical  action. 

The  study  of  tactical  action  is  largely  a 
business  of  educating  yourself  to  be  skillful  and 
ready  in  carrying  out  your  tactical  work  as 
the  tactical  principles  say  you  must.  Tactical 
principles  are  simply  the  rules  for  tactical  suc- 
cess as  experience  in  war  has  determined  them. 
From  this  it  is  clear  that  the  study  of  tactics 
is  really  founded  upon  the  study  of  tactical 
principles. 


7 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


If  a military  organization  cannot  go  out  and 
meet  the  enemy  and  keep  on  meeting  him  it  is 
of  little  or  no  value.  Therefore,  its  excellence 
is  judged  by  its  field  efficiency.  If  the  training 
of  an  army  has  not  prepared  its  different  units 
to  act  together  as  a whole  it  may  be  said  to  be 
no  stronger  than  the  largest  part  that  can  act 
together.  It  is  the  old  lesson  of  the  bundle  of 
sticks,  as  a bundle  it  is  as  strong  as  the  com- 
bined strength  of  all  the  sticks.  It’s  effective 
as  a whole.  The  tactical  principle  that  lays 
down  the  law  as  to  effectiveness  as  a whole  is 
team  work,  this  includes  in  its  meaning  another 
fundamental  tactical  principle,  fire  superiority. 

From  the  foregoing  we  have  these  tactical 
principles : Get  a correct  grasp  of  the  tactical 
situation  as  a whole,  act  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain,  team 
work,  fire  superiority,  and  simple  and  direct 
methods.  A tactical  situation  is  just  an  actual 
or  prospective  combat.  The  above  tactical 

3 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

principles  lay  down  the  laws  that  should  be 
carried  out  in  every  fight. 

One  of  the  greatest  American  tacticians  said : 
“The  most  frequent  cause  of  defeat  is  fighting 
in  detail.”  Evidently  just  knowing  the  tacti- 
cal principle  of  team  work  is  no  proof  that  you 
know  how  to  do  your  tactical  work  so  as  to 
practice  team  work. 

The  only  value  in  what  you  know  about 
tactics  lies  in  those  tactical  truths  that  you 
know  well  enough  to  make  practical,  correct, 
and  prompt  use  of.  As  long  as  you  do  not 
know  a thing  well  enough  to  make  full  and 
varied  use  of  it  you  cannot  be  said  to  know  it. 
A ninety-nine  per  cent  mark  on  a written 
examination  does  not  necessarily  indicate  five 
per  cent  of  ready-to-use  knowledge. 

Neither  the  instructor  nor  the  pupil  should 
be  satisfied  until  knowledge  as  to  a tactical 
point  had  been  tested  by  varied  practical 
examples. 


9 


Five  Tactical  Principles  mid 


That  team  work  includes  fire  superiority  is 
plain  because  troops  and  their  fire  must  be  used 
in  team  work. 

If  troops  are  trained  to  understand  and  use 
tactics  differently,  they  will  have  difficulty  in 
acting  together  tactically.  Hence  the  neces- 
sity of  uniform  tactical  training.  This  brings 
up  the  question : What  is  uniform  tactical 

training? 


10 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


CHAPTER  II 

UNIFORM  TACTICAL  TRAINING 

Is  it  to  be  uniform  in  the  sense  of  drill  train- 
ing? Is  drill  training  tactical  training?  Does 
drill  training  assist  in  getting  success  in  com- 
bat? Is  the  mental  habit  formed  by  drill  suited 
to  modern  combat?  Is  drill  valuable  as  a disci- 
plinary exercise? 

The  real  answer  to  all  of  these  questions  is 
No.  “Simple  movements  and  elastic  formations 
are  essential  to  correct  training  for  battle.” 
I.  D.  R.  Par.  3.  Drill  “designed  to  teach 
precise  and  soldierly  movement”  is  a left-over 
and  has  no  place  in  modern  combat  conditions. 
The  formations  taught  in  drill  are  tactical 
and  were  designed  to  meet  deployment  and 
maneuver  conditions  that  will  always  exist. 
They  are  tactical  methods  of  carrying  out 
tactical  principles.  The  “precise  and  soldierly” 
movements  required  in  past  days  by  past  con- 


11 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 

ditions  are  no  longer  useful  in  obtaining  suc- 
cess in  combat. 

The  discipline  obtained  by  drill  was  neces- 
sary under  the  tactical  conditions  of  old  days. 

It  is  not  even  useful  under  the  tactical  con- 
ditions of  today.  Former  tactical  conditions 
required  precise  action.  Present  tactical  con- 
ditions require  action  to  be  controlled  by  under 
standing  and  comprehension. 

The  drill  formations  should  be  retained  and 
their  tactical  meaning  and  use  taught,  but  drill 
as  drill,  should  be  discarded  as  it  is  not  a train- 
ing that  is  useful  in  obtaining  success  m com- 
bat and  is  too  often  used  as  an  excuse  for 
thought.  It  is  a time  absorber. 

Uniform  tactical  training  is  mostly  a mental 
training. 

These  three  things  have  been  mentioned  as 
entering  into  tactics : tactical  situations,  tacti 
cal  principles,  and  tactical  methods. 

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Uniform  Tactical  Training 


Take  tactics  as  made  up  of  tactical  situa- 
tions, tactical  principles,  and  tactical  methods 
and  see  if  by  considering  them  you  can  get  a 
statement  that  will  express  the  idea  of  uniform 
tactical  training. 

We  found  that  before  we  could  use  the  tacti- 
cal principle  of:  Act  according  to  the  circum- 
stances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain,  we  would 
have  to  form  a correct  grasp  of  the  tactical 
situation  as  a whole  and  if  we  do  that  we 
could  plan  team  work  against  the  decisive  point 
so  that  the  team  work  would  enable  us  to  get 
fire  superiority  where  it  would  count  the  most. 

The  important  thing  is  to  find  out  some  way 
to  get  a correct  grasp  of  tactical  situations 
as  a whole. 

As  long  as  each  tactical  situation  looks  dif- 
ferent to  us  from  every  other  tactical  situation, 
that  is,  when  it  occurs  to  our  minds  as  having 
no  points  in  common  with  other  tactical  situa- 

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Five  Tactical  PnncMes  and 


tions,  we  will  expect  and  see  an  unfamiliar  tac- 
tical  situation. 

The  thing  to  do  is  to  examine  tactical  situa- 
tions and  endeavor  to  group  them  into  classes 
having  qualities  common  to  each  other.  You 
will  find  by  doing  this  that  there  is  one  group 
where  you  will  have  both  flanks  and  your  center 
to  look  out  for,  another  group  where  one  of 
your  flanks  is  protected  and  you  have  only  one 
flank  and  your  center  to  look  out  for,  another 
group  where  both  of  your  flanks  are  protected 
and  you  have  only  your  center  to  look  out  for. 
Call  these  tactical  groups;  three  point  situa- 
tions, two  point  situations,  and  one  point  situa- 
tions. Now  you  can  always  grasp  a tactical 
situation  as  a whole,  as  either  a three,  two,  or 
one  point  situation.  You  see  it  as  one  of  a 
group  that  calls  for  a certain  general  line  of 
tactical  action.  Next  you  know  that  each  man 
in  the  world  is  a man,  he  is  different  from  other 
men  and  is  recognized  to  be  so  by  the  things 


14 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


that  make  up  his  individuality.  It  is  the  same 
way  with  tactical  situations,  so  go  over  it  to 
find  out  in  what  particulars  it  varies  from  the 
usual  run  of  problems  of  its  class.  Next  study 
how  these  differences  affect  tactical  values  in 
the  tactical  situation.  The  comparative  and 
relative  tactical  values  of  the  situation  should 
be  studied.  Compare  the  situation  to  others 
of  its  class  that  are  familiar  to  you  and  try  to 
determine  how  its  differences  from  them  will 
affect  tactical  values.  Next  take  the  situation 
itself  and  try  and  determine  how  its  indivi- 
dualisms  will  vary  tactical  values  within  the 
problem  by  varying  its  tactical  relations  and 
tactical  action. 

Going  over  a tactical  situation  in  this  way 
has  a value  somewhat  similar  to  the  form  in  a 
field  order. 

It  is  plain  that  the  ability  to  get  a correct 
grasp  of  tactical  situations  as  a whole  is  the 
best  guarantee  of  being  able  to  conduct  combat 


15 


Five  Tactical  Princiyles  and 


successfully.  It  is  further  plain  that  for  sub- 
ordinates to  be  able  to  get  a correct  grasp  of 
tactical  situations  as  a whole  is  the  best  guar- 
antee of  their  being  able  to  successfully,  carry 
out  their  part  in  combat.  It  is  impossible  to 
conceive  of  team  work  as  not  being  based  on  a 
correct  grasp  of  the  situation  as  a whole. 

The  importance  of  getting  a correct  grasp 
of  tactical  situations  as  a whole  cannot  be  over 
valued.  Therefore,  it  is  important  to.  organize 
and  systematize  the  manner  of  doing  it  so.  that 
all  will  think  along  common  lines  in  forming  a 
correct  grasp  of  a tactical  situation  as  a whole 
in  order  that  the  fuller  thought  of  the  more 
able  may  be  the  more  readily  comprehended  by 
the  less  able,  thus  quickening  and  increasing 
that  common  knowledge  and  understanding  of 
tactical  situations,  which  is  the  object  of  uni- 
form training  in  tactical  situations. 

To  illustrate,  the  field  order  form  has  given 
us  uniform  training  as  to  field  orders.  A 
16 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


soldier  may  not  be  able  to  supply  the  ideas  in 
a general’s  field  order  but  his  uniform  training, 
in  the  clear  thought  plan,  followed  in  field  orders 
enables  him  to  understand  the  general’s  order 
much  better.  Given  the  plan  on  which  to  con- 
duct thought  almost  any  man  will  and  can  go 
much  farther  than  if  left  to  himself. 

To  get  a correct  grasp  of  a tactical  situation 
as  a whole  follow  this  process:  (1)  Classify  the 
tactical  situation  as  a one  point,  two  point,  or 
three  point  problem;  (2)  Examine  the  situa- 
tion to  find  its  individual  differences  from  other 
situations  of  its  class  with  which  you  are 
familiar;  (3)  Estimate  the  value  of  its  tactical 
points  as  compared  to  the  points  of  other  like 
tactical  situations  known  to  you.  Estimate  the 
relative  tactical  values  of  the  different  tactical 
points  in  the  situation  as  to  each  other  and  to 
the  whole  situation. 

Go  through  consciously  and  systematically, 
and  analyze  as  you  go.  As  your  training  pro- 

17 


Five  Tacticd  Principles  and 


gresses  much  of  it  will  become  instinctive  and 
you  will  reach  many  of  your  conclusions  by 

simply  knowing.  , 

It  is  well  to  note  that  Par.  1 of  field  orders 
is  simply  a short  statement  of  the  tactical 

situation. 


Tactical  Principles 

Laws  are  rules  of  action.  Tactical  princi- 
ples are  the  fundamental  rules  which  govern 
tactical  action.  They  have  been  reduced  to  the 
simplest  and  most  direct  expressions.  The  ideas 
they  are  intended  to  express  are  recognized 
at  a first  reading.  They  tell  plainly  and  to  all 
what  they  require.  As  what  they  require 
is  easily  taken  mental  hold  of,  studying  and 
thinking  out  the  importance  and  extent  of  then 
requirements  is  too  often  not  realized  and  acted 

Tactical  principles  should  not  be  studied  as 
something  simply  to  be  remembered  They 
should  be  studied  and  thought  out  as  the  essen- 
tial guiding  requirements  of  your  tactical  acts. 


18 


U niform  Tactical  Trairmig 


They  determine  and  limit  WHAT  tactical 
action  must  be  taken  if  continued  success  in 
combat  is  to  be  expected. 

To  recognize  readily  and  clearly  what  tacti- 
cal principles  control  a tactical  situation  is 
really  to  recognize  readily  and  clearly  what 
tactical  action  must  be  taken.  The  ability  to 
recognize  this  habitually  is  first  in  importance 
as  a military  qualification.  All  soldiers  cannot 
attain  this  qualification  to  the  same  degree  but 
their  training  as  to  tactical  principles  can  be 
made  uniform. 

Tactical  principles  are  and  always  have  been 
the  standards  by  which  tactical  training  and 
tactical  action  is  determined.  Tactical  princi- 
ples tell  both  officers  and  men  what  to  do  and  as 
they  do  it  so  are  they  judged. 

Uniform  training  as  to  these  tactical  prin- 
ciples is  as  necessary  in  carrying  on  tactical 
action  under  them  as  a common  language  is 
necessary  in  carrying  on  a conversation  between 
individuals. 


19 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 

Uniform  training  does  not  mean  that  every 
man  gets  the  same  amount  of  training  u 1 
does  mean  that  as  far  as  it  goes  m each  indi- 
vidual case  it  is  of  the  same  kind.  To  use  the 
common  language  illustration  the  vocabu  ary 
of  one  man  may  be  much  larger  than  the  vocabu- 
lary of  another  but  for  every-day  needs  they 
use  about  the  same  words  and  so  a common 
knowledge  and  understanding  is  easily  possible 

between  them.  , 

Combat  orders  are  or  should  be  drawn  to 

meet  the  requirements  of  tactical  principles. 
It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  subordinates  being 
able  to  intelligently  carry  out  their  parts  in 
combat  action  without  understanding  the  tac- 
tical principles  upon  which  the  combat  or  er 
was  based.  From  this  we  see  the  importance 
of  a real  working  knowledge  of  tactical  princi- 
ples. As  a matter  of  fact  when  you  think  it 
out  tactical  principles  are  the  basis  of  all  tac  1 
cal  practice  and  study.  Past  tactical  action 


20 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


is  judged  by  them  and  future  tactical  action 
will  be  guided  by  them. 

In  organizing  and  systematizing  study  and 
training  in  tactical  principles  the  first  thing 
is  to  find  out  what  tactical  principles  govern 
every  tactical  situation.  In  other  words,  are 
there  any  that  you  always  have  and  which  every 
one  should  know  and  understand?  There  are 
five:  Get  a correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situa- 
tion as  a whole,  act  according  to  circumstances 
and  the  nature  of  the  terrain,  team  work,  fire 
superiority,  and  simple  and  direct  plans  and 
methods.  The  first  four  are  a natural  sequence 
and  the  fifth  states  the  requirement  necessary 
to  be  complied  with  in  carrying  out  the  other 
four. 

Base  your  uniform  tactical  study  and  instruc- 
tion on  this  sequence  and  requirement  as  fol- 
lows : A correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation 
as  a whole  is  required  before  it  is  possible  to 
plan  and  act  according  to  circumstances  and 


21 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


the  nature  of  the  terrain  by  planning  and 
directing  team  work  so  as  to  get  fire  superority 
at  the  decisive  points.  The  plans  and  control 
require  common  knowledge  and  understanding, 
therefore,  they  must  be  simple  and  direct. 

Tactical  principles  control  tactical  situa- 
tions and  we  found  under  tactical  situations 
that  the  latter  were  best  studied  and  under- 
stood by  (1)  classifying  them,  (2)  finding 
out  the  variations  from  class  which  gave  them 
individuality,  (3)  comparing  the  tactical  values 
of  their  tactical  points  to  the  tactical  values 
of  other  known  tactical  situations  of  like  class, 
and  (4)  of  getting  the  relative  values  of  the 
tactical  points  in  the  tactical  situation  as  to 
each  other  and  as  to  the  whole  situation.  All 
this  is  just  organizing  and  systematizing  what 
to  do,  to  get  a correct  grasp  of  tactical  situa- 
tions as  a whole.  A correct  grasp  of  the  tacti- 
cal situation  as  a whole  is  absolutely  necessary 
if  intelligent  team  work  is  to  be  planned  or 
executed. 


22 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


The  correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation 
as  a whole  may  originate  entirely  with  the  com- 
mander but  there  will  still  be  no  chance  of  team 
work  unless  the  subordinates  are  able  to  grasp 
correctly  the  commander’s  grasp  of  the  situa- 
tion as  a whole.  This  is  true  whether  it  refers 
to  a general  commanding  an  army  or  a corporal 
commanding  a squad. 

As  this  tactical  principle  of  getting  a cor- 
rect grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as  a whole 
is  the  soundest  basis  for  successful  combat,  it  is 
important  that  it  be  taught  and  trained  in  a 
uniform  and  through  manner.  The  more  com- 
pletely the  situation  is  known,  the  better  the 
chance  will  be  to  get  a correct  grasp  of  it  as 
a whole. 

The  higher  the  officer  the  more  clearly  and 
correctly  he  must  grasp  the  controlling  tacti- 
cal conditions  of  a tactical  situation.  After 
tactical  action  has  begun  in  any  considerable 
command,  there  is  little  possibility  of  making 


23 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


any  important  changes.  The  lower  the  com- 
mander the  more  frequently  and  rapidly  will 
the  tactical  conditions  which  confront  him 
change  and  the  more  often  will  he  be  called 
upon  to  form  new  grasps  of  his  tactical  situa- 
tion as  a whole  and  he  will  further  be  required 
to  form  these  grasps  so  that  they  are  in  accord 
with  the  grasp  and  plan  of  his  commander. 

Most  decidedly  the  training  to  form  a cor- 
rect grasp  of  tactical  situations  as  a whole  is 
not  confined  to  the  higher  military  officers.  In 
fact,  whether  a command  has  or  has  not 
military  training  is  largely  a matter  as  to  what 
extent  it  is  trained,  to  correctly  grasp  tacti- 
cal situations  as  a whole  whenever  circum- 
stances require  it. 

Being  able  to  get  a correct  grasp  of  tactical 
situations  as  a whole  enables  you  to  know  how 
to  act  according  to  circumstances  and  the 
nature  of  the  terrain  whether  you  are  a general 
or  a private.  It  also  makes  plain  the  way  to 


24 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

apply  sound  tactical  principles  to  concrete 
cases. 

As  we  have  seen,  getting  a correct  grasp  of 
the  tactical  situation  as  a whole  is  simply  pre- 
paratory to  acting  according  to  the  circum- 
stances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain.  The 
most  essential  thing  in  acting  according  to  cir- 
cumstances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain  is  to 
have  team  work  in  your  action,  and  again  the 
most  essential  thing  about  your  team  work  is 
to  get  fire  superiority  by  it  at  the  decisive 
points.  You  cannot  rely  on  getting  fire  superi- 
ority unless  you  have  team  work,  and  fire 
superiority  is  the  actual  thing  with  which  suc- 
cess in  battle  is  usually  secured. 

Team  work  is  making  the  most  effective  use 
of  every  part  of  your  command  in  order  to 
obtain  success  in  combat  by  means  of  fire 
superiority  at  the  decisive  points. 

The  four  tactical  principles:  Get  a correct 
grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as  a whole,  act 


25 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


according  to  the  circumstances  and  the  nature 
of  the  terrain,  team  work,  and  fire  superiority 
thus  present  a natural  sequence  in  tactical 
action.  You  might  call  it  the  natural  sequence 
of  tactical  action.  The  form  of  field  orders 
indicates  this,  Par.  1 is  the  statement  of  the 
commander’s  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation, 
Par.  2 is  his  plan  of  action  according  to  the 
circumstances  and  the  nature  of  the  terrain, 
Par.  3 is  the  statement  of  his  dispositions  for 
team  work  to  get  fire  superiority  at  the  decisive 
points. 

The  tactical  principle,  simple  and  direct 
plans  and  methods,  means  that  success  in  com- 
bat cannot  be  expected  unless  a command  uses 
team  work  in  its  tactical  action.  Team  work 
requires  the  understanding  of  not  only  your 
own  plans  and  methods  but  the  undei  standing 
of  the  plans  and  methods  of  the  others  who 
are  working  with  you.  This  understanding 
26 


Unifoi'm  Tactical  Training 

depends  largely  upon  whether  the  plans  and 
methods  are  simple  and  direct  or  the  reverse. 

The  simple  and  direct  methods  and  plans 
referred  to  in  this  tactical  principle  are  the 
final  ones,  the  ones  you  wonder  you  never 
thought  of  before,  the  ones  your  hind-sight 
tells  you,  you  should  have  used.  Simple  and 
direct  plans  and  methods  do  not  mark  the 
beginning  of  military  training,  they  mark  that 
stage  of  it  that  knows  what  plans  and  methods 
will  work  and  what  ones  will  not  work.  Simple 
and  direct  plans  and  methods  simply  mean  high 
efficiency  of  tactical  operation. 

There  are  many  other  tactical  principles 
but  they  are  all  in  the  nature  of  particular 
expressions  of  laws  or  rules  derived  from  the 
five  general  tactical  principles  given  above  and 
unless  you  are  able  to  understand  how  they  are 
related  to  and  derived  from  them  you  will  not 
get  the  real  meaning  they  are  meant  to  express. 
27 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


You  must  understand  the  general  law  to 
understand  the  particular  law.  You  cannot 
organize  and  systematize  knowledge  unless  you 
know  the  general  and  are  able  to  understand 
the  relation  of  the  particular  to  it.  You  can- 
not organize  and  systematize  your  military 
training  unless  you  are  able  to  comprehend  the 
relation  of  each  part  to  the  other  parts,  and 
the  relation  of  each  part  to  the  object  of  all 
military  training,  success  in  combat. 

Military  training  that  is  not  based  on  tacti- 
cal principles  is  a farce.  How  are  you  going 
to  study  tactical  principles  after  you  have 
become  familiar  with  them  as  expressions? 

Start  in  by  taking  either  one  of  the  five 
tactical  principles  discussed,  assume  a tacti- 
cal situation  as  to  terrain,  enemy,  and  your 
own  troops.  Write  a combat  order  for  it. 
Then  study  your  combat  order  and  find  out 
just  how  you  did  or  did  not  write  it  to  carry 
out  the  requirements  of  that  tactical  princi- 


28 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

pie.  Next  examine  it  to  see  how  well  it  carries 
out  the  provisions  of  the  other  four.  Examine 
to  see  if  Par.  1 gives  a clear  enough  statement 
of  the  whole  tactical  situation  for  your  sub- 
ordinate to  grasp,  guide  by,  and  act  on.  See 
if  Par.  2 orders  action  according  to  circum- 
stances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain.  See  if 
Par.  3 shows  a team  work  disposition  and  see  if 
the  team  work  is  team  work  that  will  be  appar- 
ent to  the  ones  charged  with  the  work  of  carry- 
ing it  out.  See  if  they  will  surely  see  the  deci- 
sive points  aimed  at  as  }rou  see  them.  See  if  the 
team  work  combinations  you  have  in  mind  are 
easily  possible  and  that  the  relations  of  the 
different  organizations  designated  for  combined 
action  are  obvious. 

Sometimes  a field  order  is  written  with  the 
idea  that  inability  to  understand  its  meaning 
is  no  excuse.  This  is  just  exercising  the  most 
unmilitary  of  qualities.  It  is  just  scheming  to 
avoid  the  responsibility  by  being  indefinite  as  to 

29 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


what  is  wanted  and  it  is  not  keeping  the  real 
objective  of  securing  success  in  combat  in  view. 

Using  the  same  tactical  situation  make  the 
following  variations  and  write  the  orders  for 
them : well-commanded  and  well-trained  troops,  . 
next  officers  and  organizations,  varying  from 
excellent  to  poor,  next  officers  and  troops  poor. 
You  will  find  a new  tactical  situation  to  be  i 
dealt  with  in  each,  you  will  find  that  a tactical 
principle  is  and  ever  will  be  a rule  of  thumb, 
and  maybe  you  will  find  how  tactical  action 
under  the  same  tactical  principles,  shapes  dif- 
ferently as  troops  are  trained  or  untrained. 
Just  ask  yourself:  How  much  of  the  com- 

mander’s success  depends  upon  his  ability  to 
fit  or  pick  subordinates  capable  of  doing  the 
work  he  assigns  to  them? 

Next  go  through  some  book  on  tactics  and 
write  down  a list  of  the  tactical  principles  you 
find  there.  Then  make  up  some  tactical  situa- 
tions and  work  out  combat  exercises  to  make 


SO 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

specific,  definite  violations  of  each  tactical 
principle  one  after  the  other.  You  will  find 
out  by  doing  this  how  the  tactical  law  can  be 
broken.  Now  go  over  these  problems  and  find 
out  how  the  violation  of  the  tactical  principle 
could  have  been  avoided  in  each  case.  You 
will  find  there  are  more  tactical  principles  than 
you  thought  and  that  they  have  more  new,  dif- 
ferent, and  wider  meanings  than  you  ever 
dreamed  of. 

Most  tactical  study  is  begun  by  reading  war 
history.  Actual  battles  almost  always  present 
examples  where  each  side  carries  out  some  tacti- 
cal principles  and  violates  others.  Even  the 
best  of  historians  some  times  disagree  as  to  just 
how  the  use  of  tactical  principles  influenced 
defeat  or  victory.  In  reading  history  the 
author  usually  sees  for  you  and  decides  for 
you.  Battles  and  Leaders  is  an  especially  useful 
book  from  which  to  study  the  use  of  tactical 
principles.  Different  leaders  on  both  sides  give 


SI 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


the  pros  and  cons  of  the  different  battles  from 
a personal  viewpoint.  After  reading  both  sides 
as  presented  by  interested  parties  you  find 
yourself  trying  to  make  up  your  mind  as  to  the 
merits  of  a case.  Your  guide  in  doing  this 
is  your  knowledge  of  tactical  principles. 
Chancellorsville  is  an  interesting  battle.  To 
many  people  it  presents  a case  of  flagrant  viola,- 
tion  of  tactical  principles  by  the  successful 
party.  As  you  study  it  do  not  try  to  make  tac- 
tical principles  conflict.  Try  to  see  which 
tactical  principles  were  the  most  important. 
Did  Lee  divide  an  inferior  force  in  the  presence 
of  a superior  force  or  did  he  act  according  to 
the  circumstances  and  the  nature  of  the  terrain 
as  determined  by  a correct  grasp  of  the  tacti- 
cal situation  as  a whole?  This  is  meant  to 
suggest  to  you  that  it  won’t  do  to  consider 
tactical  principles  as  specifics  that  release  you 
from  the  responsibility  of  acting  on  your  own 
judgment  in  taking  tactical  action.  Lee 
32 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


ignored  the  lesser  tactical  principle  and  divided 
his  inferior  force  in  the  presence  of  Hooker’s 
superior  force  and  obeyed  the  greater  tactical 
principle  because  his  ability  enabled  him  to  get 
a correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as  a 
whole.  He  played  up  to  that  ability  by  acting 
according  to  circumstances,  of  which  T.  J. 
Jackson  was  one  and  the  wooded  terrain  was 
another.  Results  justified  his  judgment  and 
action. 

Tactical  results  will  often  seemingly  contra- 
dict tactical  principles.  It  is  doubtful  if  they 
ever  do.  A general  tactical  principle  includes 
all  special  tactical  principles  derived  from  it, 
therefore,  the  action  taken  under  the  special 
tactical  principle  is  only  correct  when  it  is  also 
correct  under  the  general  tactical  principle.  A 
little  study  of  this  will  serve  to  explain  most  of 
these  seeming  contradictions  between  results 
and  principles.  It  is  usually  a narrow,  hide- 


33 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


bound,  rule-of-thumb  view  of  tactical  princi- 
ples that  is  seemingly  contradicted. 

Did  Hooker’s  army  have  a correct  grasp  of 
the  tactical  situation  as  a whole,  or  act  accord- 
ing to  circumstances  and  the  nature  of  the 
terrain,  or  use  team  work,  or  get  fire  superi- 
ority? Do  not  decide  these  questions  by  trying 
to  settle  who  was  to  blame.  Find  out  what  was 
to  blame.  In  dealing  with  tactics  be  imper- 
sonal. Who  is  only  important  as  he  affects 
what. 

As  you  become  more  and  more  familiar  with 
the  many  expressions  of  tactical  principles  do 
not  regard  them  as  exact  statements  of  pro- 
cedure that  are  each  complete  in  itself.  They 
only  have  strength  as  they  are  considered  in 
connection  with  the  five  great  general  tactical 
principles.  Their  relation  to,  or  derivation 
from  one  or  more  of  these  determines  their  use 
and  importance. 


34 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

The  importance  of  the  five  great  general  tac- 
tical principles  comes  from  their  being  the  basic 
rules  for  obtaining  success  in  combat. 

Tactical  Methods 

A tactical  situation  exists  when  hostile  troops 
expect  to,  or  are  engaged  in  combat. 

Tactical  principles  are  the  laws  or  rules 
which  state  what  procedure  will  best  secure  suc- 
cess in  combat. 

Tactical  methods  are  the  ways  used  to  carry 
out  the  tactical  principles  that  state  what  tacti- 
cal action  should  be  taken  in  a tactical  situa- 
tion. 

A tactical  situation  states  the  tactical  con- 
ditions. 

Tactical  principles  state  what  is  to  be  done. 

Tactical  methods  state,  HOW  what  is  to  be 
done,  is  to  be  done. 

To  organize  and  systematize  uniform  train- 
ing in  tactical  methods,  it  is  necessary  to  find 


35 


Five  Tactical  Prrnciples  and 


out  the  essential  things  which  control  tactical 
methods. 

A correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as  a 
whole,  act  according  to  the  circumstances  and 
the  nature  of  the  terrain,  team  work,  fire 
superiority,  simple  and  direct  plans  and 
methods.  It  is  evident  that  these  five  must  be 
considered  in  every  tactical  method.  How  it 
is  to  be  done,  is  largely  a matter  of  what  is  to 
be  done.  If  a tactical  method  is  not  adopted 
to  carry  out  the  above  tactical  principles  it  is 
now  worth  considering.  Therefore,  tactical 
principles  must  be  considered  in  determin- 
ing tactical  methods.  Terrain  always  has  and 
always  will  be  considered  in  determining  tacti- 
cal methods.  The  weapons  you  use  and  the 
weapons  the  enemy  uses  have  and  always  will 
have  a strong  influence  in  determining  the  form 
and  use  of  tactical  methods. 

The  terrain  and  the  weapons  usually  deter- 
mine what  we  may  call  the  set  forms  of  tacti- 
36 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


cal  methods  but  they  do  not  make  plain  the  real 
idea  about  which  we  desire  to  build  our  uniform 
training  in  tactical  methods.  The  real  idea 
about  which  all  uniform  tactical  training  should 
be  built  is  success  in  combat.  A cut  and  dried 
system  or  a blind  adherence  to  form  cannot  be 
relied  on  to  secure  success  in  combat.  Success 
does  not  come  from  the  system  or  form  but 
from  the  skill  which  adapts  the  form  or  sys- 
tem to  the  end  in  view.  If  the  system  or  form 
has  been  skillfully  devised  to  meet  the  condi- 
tions of  its  purpose,  it  is  still  almost  entirely 
dependent  in  accomplishment  upon  its  proper 
employment.  This  question  of  skilled  use  is 
always  a vital  one  but  it  is  still  more  vital  when 
it  is  a question  of  tactical  methods. 

The  form  of  a tactical  method  is  too  often 
considered  of  more  importance  than  the  reason 
for  the  form. 

The  things  that  usually  determine  the  regu- 
lar training  forms  of  tactical  methods  have 

37 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


been  stated.  Now  the  statement  is  made  that 
uniform  training  in  tactical  methods  is  based 
upon  the  skill  with  which  they  are  used  accord- 
ing to  circumstances  and  the  nature  of  the 
terrain. 

The  circumstances  are  many  and  the  diner- 
ent  combinations  which  can  be  made  by  varying 
the  circumstances  of  a tactical  situation  are 
almost  countless.  The  impossibility  of  reduc- 
ing tactical  methods  to  more  than  general  forms 
is  apparent  when  you  consider  this,  and  the 
necessity  for  skilful  adaptations  of  tactical 
methods  to  conditions  as  you  find  them  is 
obvious.  Tactical  methods  are  usually  more 
a matter  of  skilled  personal  leadership  than  a 
matter  of  command.  Skilled  leadership  in  the 
sense  of  commands  small  enough  to  be  handled 
personally  is  almost  impossible  unless  the 
higher  commander  whose  orders  are  to  be  car- 
ried out  by  subordinates  is  able  to  realize  how 
his  subordinates  can  carry  out  his  orders. 


88 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

Only  those  who  have  served  are  fit  to  command 
means  about  this. 

Par.  3 of  combat  orders  gives  the  disposi- 
tions which  should  state  the  team  work.  Can 
the  commander  expect  his  subordinates  to  carry 
out  his  orders  by  the  use  of  tactical  methods 
unless  he  can  clearly  realize  what  those  methods 
are  to  be,  and  the  possibility  of  their  being 
used.  To  plan  a house  you  must  know  how  it 
is  built.  Consider  an  architect’s  house  plans 
and  a woman’s  house  plans.  Skilled  command 
is  founded  upon  skilled  leadership. 

A correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as 
a whole  most  emphatically  requires  a knowledge 
of  the  tactical  methods  to  be  used  in  the  tacti- 
cal situation.  Team  work  is  carried  out  by 
means  of  tactical  methods.  Tactical  methods 
are  executed  through  subordinate  officers.  It 
is  evident  that  if  the  subordinate  officers  are 
to  act  intelligently  they  must  be  able  to  get  a 
correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as  a 

39 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


whole  in  order  to  use  tactical  methods  accord- 
ing to  circumstances  and  the  nature  of  the 
terrain  while  following  the  team  work  combat 
plan  of  getting  fire  superiority  at  the  selected 
decisive  points. 

A little  thought  will  make  it  plain  that  this 
training  requires  the  same  kind  of  knowledge 
from  top  to  bottom. 

The  basis  of  uniform  training  in  tactical 
methods  is  not  so  much  a knowledge  of  the 
forms  of  tactical  methods  as  it  is  of  so  under- 
standing their  purposes  as  to  be  able  to  make 
skilful  and  appropriate  use  of  them. 

The  form  of  a tactical  method  is  determined 
by  its  purpose.  Knowledge  of  it  as  a form 
makes  controlled  action  possible.  Under- 
standing the  purpose  of  its  form  makes  skilled 
and  intelligent  controlled  action  possible  and 
probable. 

Suppose  you  select  a tactical  situation.  Use 
the  same  terrain,  keep  the  number  of  troops  on 


40 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

either  side  fixed,  attack  from  the  same  place 
and  find  the  enemy  in  the  same  place  each  time. 
Only  vary  the  enemy’s  conditions  as  to  his 
formations,  training,  physical  and  menta] 
state. 

Your  tactical  principles  in  each  case  will  be 
the  same.  The  resulting  cases  differ,  therefore, 
it  may  easily  and  properly  happen  that  from 
your  grasp  of  each  case  you  will  decide  to  use 
a different  tactical  method  for  each  case  as 
being  better  suited  to  its  circumstances,  team 
work,  and  fire  superiority  requirements.  This 
is  just  a simple  illustration  to  show  that  the 
skilful  use  of  tactical  methods  is  not  a matter 
of  cut  and  dried  form. 

An  examination  of  tactical  methods  will 
reveal  that  they  are  all  founded  on  a few  simple 
ideas  and  that  these  ideas  have  governed  them 
since  time  began.  Before  stating  them  remem- 
ber that  anything  that  is  simple  and  direct  has 
been  reduced  to  that  form  from  the  complex 

41 


Five  Tactical  Prin^P^l 


and  indirect.  The  complex  and  indirect  are 
difficulties  that  you  do  not  realize  immediately 
if  you  come  in  contact  with  the  simple  and 
direct  first.  Sooner  or  later  they  will  bother 
you  until  you  eliminate  them  by  your  own 
reasoning  and  thinking. 

Tactical  combat  has  always  been  carried  on 
in  a line  formation.  Therefore,  the  most  impor- 
tant. tactical  methods  are  founded  on  line  for- 
mations. Start  a combat  as  you  please,  sooner 
or  later  it  will  result  in  opposing  lines.  Usually 
one  line  will  advance  and  the  other  retire. 
Therefore  the  most  important  single  tactical 
method  is  the  way  to  advance  a line  under  fire. 
This  suggests  the  question  how  do  you  form  a 
line  ? 

All  lines  are  formed  by  using  the  familiar 
drillbook  plans  of,  to  into  line,  on  into  line,  and 
front  into  line.  Using  to  into  line,  on  into  line, 
and  front  into  line  skilfully  is  in  itself  a study 
of  tactical  methods.  The  deep  battle  forma- 


42 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

tions  of  large  commands  are  based  on  it.  Do 
not  overlook  the  fact  that  getting  into  line  is 
what  is  aimed  at  and  that  advancing  a firing 
line  is  nearly  always  required  to  obtain  suc- 
cess in  combat.  Suppose  we  think  of  tactical 
methods  under  these  divisions:  (1)  Approach 
tactical  methods;  (2)  Deployment  tactical 
methods;  and  (8)  Combat  tactical  methods. 

To  get  a more  familiar  view  of  tactics  and 
especially  of  tactical  methods,  let  us  regard  the 
commander  as  the  architect,  the  subordinates 
as  rating  from  skilled  mechanics  to  skilled 
laborers  and  tactical  methods  as  the  tools. 

All  tactical  methods  are  reduced  to  forms. 
When  the  need  is  a common  one  the  best  form 
will  sooner  or  later  become  almost  fixed  as  its 
suitability  is  recognized.  Drill  formations  are 
good  examples  of  this. 

The  use  to  which  a tool  is  to  be  put  deter- 
mines its  form.  The  tool  is  shaped  to  do  the 
work  for  which  it  was  designed.  No  matter 


43 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


how  well  the  tool  is  adapted  to  do  the  work, 
doing  the  work  depends  on  an  adequate  human 
agency. 

The  form  has  value  both  in  tools  and  in  tacti- 
cal methods  but  in  either  results  depend  mostly 
upon  the  skill  and  intelligence  with  which  they 
are  used.  A soldier  must  be  trained  m tactical 
methods  until  he  is  skilled  in  their  employment. 
Just  being  familiar  with  their  names  and  shapes 
is  not  nearly  enough.  He  must,  of  course,  know 
why  they  have  their  different  forms  if  he  is  to 
use  them  intelligently. 

Approach  tactical  methods  are  usually 
column  formations.  The  roads  or  passability 
of  the  country  determine  the  width  of  the 
columns.  The  depth  usually  depends  upon 
whether  the  enemy  is  near  or  far. 

Deployment  tactical  methods  are  as  a rule 
not  sufficiently  organized  and  systematized  to 
secure  uniform  training  in  them.  A good  for- 
mation for  deployment  is  really  a part  of  the 
44 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


deployment.  The  larger  the  force  the  more 
vital  to  success  is  the  suitable  deployment  for- 
mation that  preceeds  combat. 

Fire  and  flank  attack  and  defense  are  the 
principal  things  that  determine  depth.  Gener- 
ally speaking  the  depth  increases  with  the  size 
of  the  command.  The  necessity  for  depth  often 
disappears  with  a small  command  and  the  neces- 
sity for  width  takes  its  place.  This  arises 
when  the  depth  of  a small  command  would 
allow  the  entire  command  to  be  held  under  a 
front  or  flank  fire. 

Do  not  get  the  idea,  that  depth  of  itself 
will  either  protect  or  attack  flanks.  Depth 
simply  allows  rear  troops  to  be  moved  to  attack 
or  defend  toward  the  flanks.  It  also  allows 
troops  to  be  held  out  of  immediate  fire  where 
they  will  be  the  shortest  average  distance  from 
all  parts  of  the  field  of  action.  It  also  allows 
them  to  execute  their  firing-line  deployment 
well  in  rear  of  the  firing  line.  The  very  great 


45 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


advantage  of  this  is  often  overlooked.  The 
advantage  usually  mentioned  is  that  they  will 
not  be  forced  to  deploy  under  fire.  A greater 
advantage  is  that  they  can  be  deployed  methodi- 
cally and  their  task  explained  to  them  so  that 
they  grasp  it.  Soldiers  instinctively  grasp  and 
reflect,  to  a greater  or  less  extent,  the  mental 
condition  and  viewpoint  of  their  leaders.  If 
the  leader  fully  and  clearly  grasps  the  work  to 
be  done  the  soldier  is  very  apt  to  do  the  same, 
or  else  he  feels  the  leader  knows  j list  what  he 
is  about  and  simply  accepts  his  decisions  as 
correct. 

The  moral  effect  on  a command  of  a deploy- 
ment, that  is  workmanlike  and  that  is  so  clearly 
the  right  thing  to  do  that  it  explains  itself 
is  tremendous.  Soldiers  hate  confusion,  uncer- 
tainty and  lack  of  decision  in  deployment  more 
than  anything  else  in  combat.  They  feel  that 
even  while  control  is  yet  easy  their  leaders  do 
not  know  what  to  do. 


46 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


When  you  are  expecting  action,  your  depth 
of  formation  will  not  be  in  one  or  more  long 
columns.  If  you  hold  your  troops  that  way 
you  offer  the  enemy  a chance  to  concentrate  his 
fire  and  it  also  permits  the  flat  trajectory  of 
his  fire  to  be  most  destructive.  Therefore,  your 
formation  will  be  in  successive  lines. 

A real  line  for  the  first  line.  It  does  the 
actual  firing.  The  lines  in  rear  are  usually 
lines  of  short  columns.  The  second  line  for 
local  supports.  The  third  line  for  local 
reserves.  The  fourth  line  for  the  brigade  or 
division  supports.  The  fifth  line  for  the 
brigade  or  division  reserves.  The  sixth  line 
for  troops  intended  for  special  work.  The  sev- 
enth line  for  the  general  reserve.  This  is  just 
a handy  example.  There  is  no  cut  and  dried 
way  to  secure  depth  of  formation. 

The  depth  of  formation  is  based  on  the  tac- 
tical principles.  It  will  be  as  the  commander 
sees  the  tactical  situation  as  a whole  and 


47 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


decides  to  act  on  the  circumstances  and  terrain 
so  that  he  can  bring  team  work  against  the 
decisive  points  in  order  to  get  fire  superiority 
where  it  will  give  him  success  in  the  combat. 

It  was  said  that  depth  of  formation  allowed 
troops  to  be  held  out  of  fire  where  they  would 
be  the  shortest  average  distance  from  all  parts  j 
of  the  field  of  action.  The  commander  and  his 
subordinates  never  know  all  of  it.  Therefore, 
when  the  expected  unexpected  happens,  the 
depth  of  formation  with  its  various  supports 
and  reserves  gives  them  troops  that  are  more 
or  less  free  to  act  and  are  in  position  .to  be 
directed  to  meet  the  unexpected  opportunity  or 
danger. 

When  these  troops  actually  commence  firing 
they  will  be  in  line.  Troops  doing  actual  fight- 
ing are  always  in  line.  When  they  are  suc- 
cessful this  line  is  advancing.  Think  it  over 
and  you  will  find  the  most  important,  tactical 
methods  deal  with  advancing  the  firing  line. 


48 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


The  firing  line  must  have  cover  if  it  is  to 
advance.  The  cover  may  be  actual  or  it  may  be 
covering  fire. 

Covering  fire  is  at  its  best,  when  it  has  and 
continues  to  have  such  superiority  of  fire  over 
the  enemy’s  fire  as  enables  you  to  continue  your 
advance  against  him.  Ordinarily,  success  in 
combat  depends  on  the  advance  being  kept  up. 
The  necessity  of  covering  fire  is  met  by  the 
tactical  method  of  rushes.  The  necessity  of 
having  this  covering  fire  available  all  of  the 
time  is  met  by  having  parts  of  the  line  firing 
or  ready  to  fire  when  the  other  parts  are 
advancing. 

The  rate  of  advance  of  the  firing  line  depends 
upon  the  proportion  of  your  command  that 
must  be  used  to  maintain  fire  superiority.  If 
the  fire  of  three-fourths  of  your  command  is 
required  to  maintain  fire  superiority  your 
advance  will  take  twice  as  long  as  when  only 
one-half  of  your  command  is  required  to  main- 

49 


Five  Tactical  Prrnciples  and 


tain  fire  superiority.  If  the  fire  units  work 
with  sufficient  intervals  the  fire  of  adjacent 
units  can  be  continuous.  If  the  units  of  your 
command  are  elbow  to  elbow  and  you  are  using 
successive  rushes  you  will  practically  have  to 
angle  the  fire  of  the  platoon  next  to  rush  or  else 
have  it  not  fire,  for  fear  of  hitting  the  rushing 
unit.  This  will  slow  down  your  advance  and 
decrease  your  fire  superiority.  You  are  usually 
able  to  use  the  interval  if  the  command  is  not 
too  large. 

You  will  find  that  the  rate  of  your  advance 
depends  largely  upon  the  degree  of  your  fire 
superiority.  The  combat  tactical  methods  you 
are  to  work  out  are:  How  to  advance  a filing 

line  the  most  rapidly  while  maintaining  an 
adequate  fire  superiority. 

It  is  clear  that  fire  superiority  requires  hits 
to  be  made  on  the  designated  enemy  at  the 
time  required.  This  requires  marksmanship. 
Battles  are  one  long  proof  of  the  value  of 


50 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


marksmanship.  Marksmanship  means  hitting 
power  that  can  be  controlled  and  directed.  The 
fact  that  poor  control  or  direction  may  nullify 
marksmanship  detracts  nothing  from  its  real 
importance.  There  is  nothing  that  insures 
morale  in  the  individual  more  than  the  know- 
ledge that  he  is  a good  shot. 

For  fire  superiority  to  result  in  success  in 
combat  it  must  always  inflict  decisive  losses 
upon  the  enemy.  The  better  the  marksmanship 
the  fewer  the  rifles  that  will  be  required  to  get 
a given  hitting  capacity.  This  is  important 
because  a firing  line  will  usually  only  accommo- 
date about  one  man  to  a yard.  The  usual  way 
of  building  up  fire  superiority  is  to  put  as  many 
guns  on  the  line  as  are  required  or  as  the  line 
permits.  Quality  of  fire  counts  as  well  as  quan- 
tity of  fire. 

It  is  evident  that,  if  you  can  attack  the 
enemy  in  such  a way  that  he  can  not  return 
your  fire,  you  will  have  complete  fire  superi- 


51 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


ority.  The  flank  attack  represents  about  this 
case.  As  the  flank  attack  move  around  through 
the  quarter  circle  from  being  squarely  across 
the  enemy’s  line,  your  fire  superiority  loses  in 
concentration  and  depth  of  fire  along  the 
enemy’s  line  where  your  flat  trajectory  has  its 
greatest  effect.  As  your  fire  becomes  less  and 
less  oblique  your  target  becomes  wider  as  a 
target  and  shallower  until  you  get  the  frontal 
or  parallel  line  action. 

The  enemy  can  use  few  guns  against  a square 
flank  attack  but  as  the  lines  become  more  and 
more  nearly  parallel  he  can  use  more  guns  and 
use  them  better  and  his  fire  is  less  and  less 
dispersed.  This  can  be  expressed  as  follows: 
The  less  an  enemy  is  able  to  oppose  a line 
attack  with  a line  defense  the  more  he  is  apt 
to  lose  fire  superiority.  This  does  not  mean 
that  all  an  enemy  has  to  do  is  to  parallel  your 
line ; it  means  that  he  will  fight  against  you  in 
a true  line  where  depth  is  at  a minimum  and 


52 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

fire  is  at  a maximum.  He  might  hit  your  flank 
with  that  line. 

The  real  reason  for  the  line  formation  is 
that  yard  for  yard  and  man  for  man  it  secures 
the  greatest  development  of  fire  and  the  least 
solid  depth  of  target.  It  is  obvious  but  not 
always  consciously  realized.  The  tactical  meth- 
ods of  forming  a line  are  all  based  on:  to  into 
line,  front  into  line,  and  on  into  line.  To  into 
line  is  the  simultaneous  method  of  forming  line 
to  a flank.  Front  into  line  is  the  successive  meth- 
od of  forming  line  to  the  front.  On  into  line 
is  the  successive  method  of  forming  line  to  the 
flank.  The  ordinary  main  course  of  a combat 
is  about  as  follows:  First,  the  simultaneous 

formation  of  a firing  line  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
formations  successive  but  with  the  object  of 
forming  lines. 

Simultaneous  formations  are  largely  mechan- 
ical. Successive  formations  are  or  are  not. 
It  depends  on  the  way  you  have  been  taught. 


58 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


Do  you  see  front  into  line  through  the  drill 
book  or  do  you  see  it  as  an  echelon  that  defends 
your  flank  and  do  you  see  that  every  leaf  of 
an  echelon  presents  a weapon  with  which  you 
can  strike  the  exposed  flank  of  an  enemy?  Do 
you  see  that  every  leaf  of  your  echelon  presents 
a covered  flank  which  the  enemy  must  turn? 
Do  you  see  on  into  line  as  an  echelon?  Do  you 
see  one  leaf  of  it  holding  the  enemy’s  flank  in 
place,  another  leaf  flanking  him,  another  leaf 
enveloping  him,  another  leaf  turning  him,  and 
another  leaf,  and  it  is  an  important  one,  guard 
ing  your  own  exposed  outer  end  of  your  line? 

Depth  of  formation  enables  you  to  send  men 
directly  forward  into  the  firing  line  and  guard 
your  own  flanks  or  strike  the  enemy’s  flanks  by 
means  of  echelon  formations.  Not  drill  ground 
echelons  but  echelons  that  are  placed  to  do 
team  work  and  fire  to  the  front,  rear  or  to 
either  flank  as  ciscumstances  require. 


54 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

The  fire  of  any  given  command  is  most  effec- 
tive against  a battle  line  when  it  is  delivered 
from  a flanking  position.  You  use  your  fire 
to  obtain  and  maintain  fire  superiority.  There- 
fore, fire  superiority  is  best  obtained  and  main- 
tained by  getting  and  keeping  a flanking 
position. 

During  the  first  years  of  our  Civil  War,  to 
flank  the  enemy  was  to  defeat  him.  During 
most  of  our  field  maneuvers,  to  get  a flanking 
position  is  usually  to  get  the  decision.  It  is 
very  seldom  that  a good  counter  for  a flank 
attack  is  seen  at  our  maneuvers. 

As  far  as  tactical  methods  go,  we  can  now 
deduce  the  important  things  which  should  form 
the  basis  of  the  soldier’s  uniform  training  in 
them.  They  should  be  taught  marksmanship. 
They  should  be  taught  the  methods  of  fighting 
in  line  and  they  should  be  taught  flank  attack 
and  defense.  Marksmanship  is  taught  under 
three  heads : Accuracy  by  bull’s  eye  target  prac- 


55 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


tice.  Accuracy  combined  with  rapidity  at  tar- 
gets. Accuracy  and  rapidity  at  field  targets 
under  tactical,  team  work,  fire  judgment,  and 
hits  conditions.  Fighting  in  line  methods  are 
taught  by  the  successive  rush  system  over  ter- 
rain at  an  assumed  or  represented  enemy,  also 
by  combat  exercises.  Flank  attack  and  defense 
should  be  taught  by  the  echelon  method. 

Line  work  is  based  on  deployment.  Deploy- 
ment is  a study  in  itself.  Fundamentally  it 
deals  with,  and  should  be  studied  from,  the  view- 
point of  successive  formations.  Par.  3 of  com- 
bat orders  governs  the  disposition  and,  there- 
fore, is,  in  essentials,  deployment,  which  is 
really  a tactical  method.  This  means  that  the 
deployment  as  a whole  is  controlled  by  the  com- 
mander and  that  he  is  responsible  for  the  meth- 
od of  it.  The  deployment  of  one  element 
should  not  impede  the  deployment  of  another. 
Deployment  should  be  made  before  losses  force 
it.  It  should  be  made  far  enough  in  rear  to 

56 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

permit  its  action  to  be  explained  and  under- 
stood; as  to  what  each  part  is  to  do,  how  its 
acts  will  relate  to  and  assist  or  be  assisted  by 
the  acts  of  the  other  parts.  While  it  would  be 
difficult  to  reduce  the  tactical  methods  of 
deployment  to  exact  forms,  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  the  echelon,  as  represented  by  front  into 
line  and  by  on  into  line,  will  be  most  used  and 
from  this  we  can  deduce  the  governing  rules 
of  tactical  methods.  Front  into  and  on  into 
deployment  methods  give  a line  and  so  a cover- 
ing fire  as  the  first  step. 

Always  cover  deployment  by  having  troops 
in  position  and  do  it  as  early  as  possible.  This 
is  the  most  important  rule  of  deployment 
methods. 

On  and  front  into  line  are  not  only  just 
deployment  methods,  they  are  also  combat 
methods  that  guard  the  exposed  part  during 
execution.  They  naturally  carry  out  the  rule 
of  covering  the  deployment  by  having  troops 

57 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


in  position  and  of  doing  it  as  early  as  possible , 
also  the  troops  in  rear  protect  the  exposed 
flank  of  the  troops  in  front  because  of  the 
echelon  formation,  and  owing  to  this  formation 
a field  of  fire  is  secured  greater  than  can  be 
obtained  by  any  other  tactical  formation. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  an  echelon 
formation  comes  nearer  to  furnishing  an  auto- 
matic flank  protection  than  any  other  tactical 
method.  Tactical  methods  were  to  be  con- 
sidered as : ( 1 ) Approach  tactical  methods ; 
(2)  Deployment  tactical  methods;  (3)  Combat 
tactical  methods.  These  can  be  reduced  to  sim- 
ple and  direct  expression: 

(1)  Approach  tactical  methods  are  col- 
umns, when  the  size  of  the  command  requires  it 
they  are  lines  of  columns. 

(2)  Deployment  tactical  methods  are 
simultaneous  movements  from  column  into  line 
or  successive,  that  is  echelon,  on  the  method  of 
front,  or  on  into  line.  Deployment  tactical 

58 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


methods  are  simply  the  best  ways  of  widening 
the  front  into  a firing  line. 

(3)  Combat  tactical  methods  are  based  on 
the  use  of  firing  lines  to  gain  and  maintain  fire 
superiority.  Superiority  of  fire  must  be 
increased  until  decisive  losses  are  inflicted  upon 
the  enemy  in  order  to  secure  success  in  combat. 
This  usually  requires  that  the  line  be  advanced 
and  that  superiority  of  fire  be  maintained  dur- 
ing the  advance.  Successive  advances  are  used. 
They  allow  fire  to  be  kept  up  and  allow  a poor 
target  to  be  shown  to  the  enemy.  The  enemy’s 
fire  is  the  most  considerable  hinderance  to  the 
advance.  The  best  target  for  modern  weapons 
is  one  where  the  solid  depth  is  greater  than  the 
width.  Therefore,  a flank  attack  obtains  a 
greater  fire  superiority  than  a frontal  attack. 
The  enemy’s  fire  is  also  greatly  reduced  in  case 
he  gives  a target  with  greater  depth  than  width, 

A flank  unprotected  by  material  obstacles  is 
defended  by  an  echelon.  Combat  tactical 


59 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


methods  are  based  on  the  use  of  firing  lines  to 
defend  or  attack  the  front  and  flanks. 

In  Conclusion 

Tactical  methods  are  the  ways  you  do 
things  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  They 
are  numberless  and  are  constantly  change 
ing.  The  airship,  gas,  high  angle  and  high 
explosive  fire  are  best  used  in  certain  ways , as 
these  ways  are  determined  and  become  known 
they  are  formulated  and  become  tactical 
methods.  In  reducing  tactical  methods  to  sim- 
ple expressions  the  design  is  twofold:  first,  to 
get  a central  or  general  thought  to  which  the 
various  subordinate  ideas  can  be  referred. 
This  organizes  and  systematizes  knowledge. 
Second,  altogether  too  much  of  tactical  know- 
ledge is  taken  for  granted.  Questions  as  to 
tactics  are  commonly  understood  and  answered 
by  the  synonym  method.  To  illustrate:  What 

is  team  work?  It  is  cooperation.  What  is 
cooperation?  It  is  team  work,  etc. 

60 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


Military  genius  is  too  rare  to  be  considered. 
Military  ability  exists  in  varying  degrees  in 
nearly  everybody.  How  to  develop  and  inform 
it  is  the  real  problem  of  uniform  and  thorough 
training. 

To  impress  upon  the  pupil  the  value  of  the 
general  rules  of  tactical  action  and  to  teach 
him  to  reason  out  definitely  how  the  special  is 
governed  by,  related  to,  and  derived  from  the 
general  gives  him  the  enduring  understanding 
knowledge  that  is  real  training.  Impress  upon 
the  pupil  that  his  tactical  knowledge  is  trivial 
unless  he  can  take  his  special  tactical  experi- 
ences and  determine  how  and  by  what  general 
tactical  truths  they  are  controlled.  This  is 
necessary  if  his  tactical  actions  are  to  be  reli- 
able. In  short,  uniform  tactical  instruction 
should  teach  the  pupil  how  to  see  the  general 
controlling  the  special  and  the  special  as  con- 
trolled by  the  general. 


61 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


CHAPTER  III 
DISCIPLINE 

Discipline  is  determined  by  tactics.  Tactics 
change;  this  usually  makes  discipline  change 
to  correspond.  Tactics  is  usually  defined  as  the 
art  of  handling  troops  in  the  presence  of  the 
enemy.  Discipline  is  defined  in  the  dictionary 
as  mental  or  moral  training.  Tactical  disci- 
pline requires  both  mental  and  moral  training. 

A man  may  obey  the  orders  of  his  superiors 
willingly  and  unhesitatingly  but  if  he  knows 
nothing  of  tactics  it  is  apparent  that  his  value 
in  doing  tactical  work  will  be  small.  He  will, 
as  a rule,  be  worse  than  useless,  because  his 
superior’s  time  in  action  will  be  taken  up  in 
telling  him  how  to  do  his  work. 

The  use  of  a superior  is  principally  in  deter- 
mining what  shall  be  done,  and  who  shall  do  it. 
A doer  who  does  not  know  how  is  of  no  account. 

62 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


Tactical  action  without  tactical  knowledge 
is  accidental  or  impossible.  Intelligent,  rea- 
soned, uniform,  and  thorough  tactical  training 
is  simply  intelligent,  reasoned,  uniform,  and 
thorough  tactical  knowledge.  Its  uniformity 
does  away  with  the  weak  spots.  There  are  no 
really  defective  links  in  a uniform  chain.  All 
the  links  will  stand  a certain  required  test. 
Intelligent,  uniform,  and  thorough  tactical 
training  teaches  a man  to  know  not  only  what 
his  tactical  work  is  but  also  how  it  should  be 
done.  Uniform  training  establishes  that, 
known  to  both,  tactical  knowledge  which 
enables  the  commander  to  direct  intelligently 
and  effectively  and  the  subordinate  to  obey 
intelligently  and  effective^. 

Moral  tactical  training  comes  mostly  from 
mental  tactical  training.  The  latter  teaches 
you  what  is  right  and  correct  in  tactical  action. 
Knowing  this,  your  sense  of  workmanship  and 
your  sense  of  duty  morally  oblige  you  to  do 

63 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 

wliat  you  know  you  should  do.  Moral  obliga- 
tions result  from  mental  convictions  as  to  right 
and  wrong.  The  surest  way  to  get  a man  to  do 
his  tactical  work  right  is  to  teach  him  the 
right  way  to  do  it  and  so  that  he  understands 
why  it  is  right.  The  moral  obligation  to  do 
a thing  right  naturally  results  from  knowing 
how  to  do  it  right.  Civilization  is  based  on 

that. 

The  statement  that  a thing  is  right  tactically 
is  not  enough.  A man  must  be  taught  how  to 
reason  out  the  proof  that  a tactical  thing  is 
right  if  the  full  responsibility  of  the  moral 
obligation  to  make  it  his  rule  of  action  is  to  be 
felt  by  him. 

“Par.  416,  I.  D.  R.,  Discipline  makes  good 
direction  and  control  possible  and  is  the  dis- 
tinguishing mark  of  trained  troops.” 

The  mark  of  trained  troops  and  trained 
leaders  is  that  in  any  given  tactical  situation, 
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what  is  to  be  done  and  how  it  is  to  be  done  is 
readily  understood  by  all. 

Tactical  discipline  is  the  tactical  training 
which  makes  a man  a finished  tactician  and  puts 
him  on  the  moral  obligation  of  doing  finished 
tactical  work.  The  control  and  direction  needed 
for  disciplined  troops  is  the  plan  of  action  and 
the  distribution  of  troops.  That  is,  a state- 
ment of  what  is  to  be  done  and  the  assignment 
to  parts.  The  mental  and  moral  training  of 
their  discipline  should  fit  them  to  see  how  each 
should  do  his  part. 

The  different  ideas  of  different  officers  as  to 
what  discipline  is  and  how  it  is  acquired  show 
that  the  subject  is  often  not  understood  or  is 
misunderstood.  No  military  subject  deserves 
more  study. 

The  moral  factor  in  discipline  is  more  impor- 
tant than  the  mental.  Yet  the  moral  factor 
is  derived  from  the  mental. 


&5 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


The  American  character  nearly  always 
requires  the  reason  for  things  and  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  build  up  discipline  in  an 
American  army  upon  a conception  that  could 
not  be  reasoned  out.  Therefore,  the  plan 
developed  here  is  to  reason  out  the  different 
parts  of  military  training  until  their  necessity 
is  made  obvious  and  thus  present  what  the 
course  of  action  should  be  in  such  a manner 
that  there  is  no  excuse  for  not  taking  it. 


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CHAPTER  IV 
TACTICAL  PRINCIPLES 

A number  of  tactical  principles  will  be  taken 
and  discussed.  “A  correct  grasp  of  the  tacti- 
cal situation  as  a whole  and  a definite  plan  of 
action  form  the  soundest  basis  for  a successful 
combat.”  As  success  in  combat  is  the  ultimate 
objective,  it  follows  that  the  tactical  principle 
which  states  the  soundest  basis  is  the  most 
important  one.  A definite  plan  of  action 
naturally  results  from  a correct  grasp  of  the 
tactical  situation  as  a whole.  Therefore,  the 
important  thing  is  to  get  a correct  grasp  of 
the  tactical  situation  as  a whole. 

A hit-or-miss  plan  of  getting  a correct  grasp 
will  not  do.  An  estimate  of  the  situation  is 
the  usual  training  methods  and  as  usually  prac- 
ticed helps  but  little.  There  are  certain  points 
in  every  tactical  situation  that  control  and  the 
correct  grasp  usually  depends  on  how  they 

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seen  and  rated.  This  most  important  tactical 
principle  is  one  of  those  rules  of  action  that 
state  what  is  needed  and  put  getting  it,  up  to 
the  individual. 

Usually  the  more  important  a tactical  prin- 
ciple is  the  less  it  goes  into  details  suggestive 
of  procedure  and  the  greater  are  its  demands 
for  personal  ability.  “Act  according  to  c r ^ 
cumstances  and  the  nature  of  the  terrain.’ 
This  principle  is  included  in  the  meaning  of  a 
correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as  a 
whole.  You  cannot  act  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances and  nature  of  the  terrain  unless 
you  have  correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation 

as  a whole. 

“Team  work.”  This  principle  requires  the 
correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as  a 
whole,  before  you  can  even  think  of  doing  team 
work.  Next,  you  find  that  team  work  is  just 
the  most  important  way  of  acting  according 
to  the  circumstances  and  the  nature  of  the  ter- 
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Uniform  Tactical  Training 


rain.  Notice,  also,  that  team  work  is  a more 
suggestive  expression  of  just  what  is  wanted 
and  how  it  is  to  be  done  than  the  preceding 
two. 

“Fire  superiority.”  This  principle  is  largely 
carried  into  effect  by  correct  use  being  made 
of  team  work. 

“All  tactical  plans  and  methods  must  be 
simple  and  direct,”  or  “only  the  simple  and 
direct  succeeds  in  war.”  This  is  principally 
related  to  team  work,  which  is  based  on  a cor- 
rect grasp  of  the  situation  as  a whole.  Team 
work  depends  on  the  units  grasping  and  under- 
standing the  situation  as  a whole.  Obviously 
if  the  plans  and  methods  are  not  simple  and 
direct  some  of  the  units  will  misunderstand. 

The  tactical  principle  of  simple  and  direct  is 
often  interpreted  to  mean  the  easy  first 
thought.  As  a matter  of  fact,  the  simple  and 
direct  expression  or  conception  is  only  arrived 
at  by  knowing  it  well  enough  to  so  present  it. 

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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


It  is  only  when  you  have  a great  deal  of  knowl- 
edge about  a thing  that  you  see  it  simply  and 
directly  and  so  can  speak  of  it  simply  and 
directly.  A simple  and  direct  plan  or  method 
is  valuable  because  it  allows  others  to  under- 
stand your  words  or  comprehend  your  ideas. 
“Self-reliance,  initiative,  aggressiveness,  and  a 
conception  of  team  work  are  the  characteristics 
of  successful  leadership.”  These  qualities  are 
easily  faults  if  they  are  not  exercised  according 
to  a correct  grasp  of  the  situation  as  a whole, 
if  they  are  not  acts  according  to  circumstances 
and  the  nature  of  the  terrain,  and  the  team 
work  that  forwards  fire  superiority.  “Order 
and  cohesion  must  be  maintained  within  the 
units  if  success  is  to  be  expected.”  It  is  evident 
that  the  correct  grasp  principle  is  going  to  do 
much  to  maintain  order  and  cohesion.  A good 
idea  of  the  team  work  ahead  will  do  more  sim- 
ply because  it  is  more  definite  and  more  per- 
sonal. The  order  meant  is  tactical  order  and 


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the  cohesion  is  not  physical  but  is  cohesion  of 
tactical  action. 

“There  is  but  one  battle  and  but  one  supreme 
will  to  which  all  must  conform.95  This  supreme 
will  is  responsible  for  the  correct  grasp  of  the 
tactical  situation  as  a whole  and  the  subordi- 
nate commanders  in  like  manner  grasp  the 
parts  as  a whole  in  which  they  are  to  do  team 
work  as  the  supreme  commanders  plan.  “The 
subordinate  must  possess  the  loyalty  to  carry 
out  the  plans  of  his  superior  and  the  keen- 
ness to  recognize  and  seize  opportunities  to 
further  the  general  plan.59  That  is  understand- 
ing the  general  grasp  of  the  situation  and  hav- 
ing intelligence  enough  to  follow  the  general 
team  work  plan,  as  planned,  or  as  opportunity 
presents  unexpected  valuable  chances. 

“Every  subordinate  must,  therefore,  work 
for  the  general  result.99  To  work  intelligently 
for  the  general  result  he  must  get  a correct 
grasp  of  the  situation  as  a whole,  act  accord- 

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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


ing  to  the  circumstances  and  the  nature  of  the 
terrain  by  using  such  team  work  as  will  assist 
in  getting  fire  superiority  at  the  decisive  points 
and  he  must  do  all  of  this  by  using  simple  and 
direct  plans  and  methods.  How  his  work  has 
been  done  can  be  determined  by  the  above. 
Another  thing,  did  the  commander  give  him  the 
information  necessary  to  do  his  work  intelli- 
gently? This  line  of  discussion  could  be  car- 
ried on  indefinitely.  It  must  be  apparent  that 
the  foregoing  statements  as  to  (1)  grasp,  (2) 
circumstances,  (3)  team  work,  (4)  fire  superi- 
ority, and  (5)  simple  and  direct  methods  and 
plans,  gives  you  a general  statement  by 
which  you  can  conduct  or  ascertain  the 
value  of  your  tactical  acts.  It  must  further  be 
plain  that  tactical  principles  are  not  meant  to 
relieve  you  from  the  responsibility  of  your  tac- 
tical acts.  When  you  try  to  excuse  your  tacti- 
cal blunders  by  saying  “I  acted  according  to 
tactical  principles,"  you  are  really  saying  “I 

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do  not  know  or  understand  tactical  principles 
well  enough  to  apply  them  to  concrete  cases.” 
You  cannot  improve  your  tactical  work  in  a 
surer  manner  than  by  tracing  tactical  successes 
or  failures  to  the  definite  violation  of  the  funda- 
mental tactical  principles. 


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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


CHAPTER  V 
TACTICAL  VALUES 

Tactical  values  are  determined  by  probable 
effect  of  fire.  The  object  of  tactics  is  to  obtain 
success  in  combat.  Success  in  combat  is  deter- 
mined by  fire  effect. 

Relative  tactical  values  treat  of  the  values  of 
related  tactical  subjects,  such  subjects  are 
usually  parts  of  a common  tactical  situation. 

Comparative  tactical  values  treat  of  the  tac- 
tical value  of  one  tactical  thing  as  compared 
to  the  tactical  value  of  another  tactical  thing. 

Probable  effect  of  fire  is  the  measure  of 
worth  of  tactical  things.  Success  of  any  kind 
depends  upon  a sense  of  values.  Action  with- 
out a sense  of  values  is  like  a ship  without  a 
course.  A sense  of  values  determines  the  course 
of  tactical  action. 

In  considering  a tactical  situation  as  a whole 
you  deal  with  relative  tactical  values.  In  clas- 
sifying tactical  situations  you  consider  relative 

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Uniform  Tactical  Training 


tactical  situations.  In  considering  the  value 
of  one  tactical  thing  against  the  value  of 
another  tactical  thing  you  are  dealing  with 
comparative  tactical  values.  Comparative  tac- 
tical values  can  be  either  the  values  of 
related  or  unrelated  things.  It  was  said  that 
tactical  values  are  determined  by  probable 
effect  of  fire.  This  is  correct  but  the  matter 
is  not  as  simple  as  so  much  effect  of  fire  equals 
so  much  tactical  value.  Effect  of  fire  is  worth 
more  or  less  depending  not  only  upon  its  actual 
physical  effect  but  upon  its  effect  upon  the 
whole  situation  or  upon  parts  related  to  the 
part  directly  affected.  A correct  grasp  upon 
the  tactical  situation  as  a whole  shows  you 
that  it  is  possible  to  hold  the  enemy  in  position 
and  strike  his  right  flank,  the  circumstances 
and  the  nature  of  the  terrain  permit  you  to 
do  this  by  making  a team-work  movement  of 
attacking  and  holding  his  front  to  allow  your 
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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 

attack  against  his  right  flank  to  get  decisive 
fire  superiority  on  his  right. 

The  tactical  value  of  your  frontal  fire  is 
twofold:  it  has  the  value  of  its  actual  effect 
and  it  has  the  much  higher  value  of  assisting 
the  team-work  plan  of  a front  and  flank  attack 
directed  against  the  enemy’s  right  flank  as  the 
decisive  point.  The  actual  flank  attack  gets 
into  action  and  its  fire  effect  has  a certain  tac- 
tical effect  due  to  the  actual  losses  it  causes 
but  it  has  a much  higher  tactical  value  if  it 
forces  the  enemy  to  withdraw,  because  it  then 
greatly  increases  the  fire  effect  of  the  frontal 
attack  and  so  the  tactical  value  of  its  fire.  This 
attack  also  decreases  the  fire  effect  and  so  the 
tactical  value  of  the  enemy’s  fire.  If  the 
enemy’s  line  forms  parallel  to  the  flank  attack, 
he  will  then  present  a double  enfilade  target 
and  a diverging  fire.  His  fire  effect  should 
thus  have  less  tactical  value  than  yours.  Again, 
suppose  the  enemy  withdraws.  Your  flank  can 

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Uniform  Tactical  Training 

do  one  of  two  things : they  can  allow  themselves 
to  become  part  of  your  frontal  attack  and  thus 
maintain  all  of  the  rifles  in  action  and  so  appar- 
ently get  top  tactical  values ; or  they  can  sacri- 
fice part  of  their  fire  by  breaking  from  their 
right,  marching  by  their  rear  to  their  left  and 
going  on  right  into  line  and  action.  This  will 
keep  them  on  the  flank  of  the  retreating  line. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  that  this  will  keep  about 
half  of  their  fire  out  of  action.  If  the  amount 
of  actual  fire  is  lessened  fifty  per  cent,  it  would 
be  reasonable  to  suppose  it  lessens  the  tactical 
value  about  that  much.  This  is  not  the  real 
case,  because  fire  against  a flank  has  the  maxi- 
mum effect  and  fire  against  the  front  has  a 
minimum  effect.  This  refers  to  actual  physical 
results.  Fire  against  a flank  has  a much 
greater  moral  effect  than  fire  against  a front. 
Therefore,  the  effect  of  the  fire  of  a few  men 
against  a flank  has  been  found  to  have  a much 
higher  tactical  value  than  the  effect  of  the 

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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


frontal  fire  of  a much  larger  number.  If  the 
position  on  the  enemy’s  flank  is  sacrificed  and 
allowed  to  merge  into  the  frontal  attack,  it  is 
evident  that  then  its  fire  effect  will  be  the  same 
as  frontal  fire  effect.  This  discussion  will  show 
you  that  tactical  values,  as  determined  by  prob- 
able effects  of  fire,  are  anything  but  fixed.  They 
are  affected  by  many  things.  They  are  not  the 
same  in  any  two  tactical  situations  and  they  are 
not  the  same  in  any  tactical  situation  for  any 
considerable  time.  This  statement  presents  the 
problem  or  question  of  tactical  values  as  a mass 
of  individual  cases.  Let  us  try  to  organize 
and  systematize  it. 

Tactical  values  exist  only  in  tactical  situa- 
tions. Tactical  situations  can  be  classified  as 
those  (1)  having  a front  with  both  flanks  pro- 
tected, (2)  a front  and  one  flank  to  protect, 
(3)  and  a front  and  both  flanks  to  protect. 
Therefore,  you  can  consider  tactical  values 
under  one  or  the  other  of  these  three  heads. 


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Make  a study  or  work  out  a problem  under  one 
of  these  three  heads  and  see  how  the  tactical 
values  rate  and  vary.  Take  another  problem 
of  the  same  kind,  note  its  individual  differences 
from  and  resemblances  to  the  first  one.  Like 
causes  produce  like  effects.  By  working  out 
tactical  values  from  tactical  situations  of  the 
same  class  you  considerably  narrow  the  field 
of  consideration.  Where  differences  occur 
more  individual  judgment  in  arriving  at  tacti- 
cal values  is  required;  but  as  your  study  and 
practice  of  each  of  the  three  classes  of  tactical 
situations  increases  your  understanding  and 
experience  of  them,  these  differences  will  become 
fewer  to  your  understanding  of  them  and  you 
will  become  better  able  to  determine  their  influ- 
ence on  tactical  values. 

So  far  you  have  considered  one  tactical  situa- 
tion as  compared  to  another.  It  now  remains 
to  consider  the  tactical  value  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  same  situation.  Of  course,  your 

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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


knowledge  of  other  like  tactical  situations  will 
help  you  but  each  tactical  situation  is  made 
up  of  different  parts  so  related  to  each  other 
as  to  make  it  individual.  A horse  is  a horse 
but  one  may  be  a two-minute  horse  and  the 
other  may  be  a six-minute  horse.  So  it  is  with 
like  tactical  situations.  It  depends  on  the  rela- 
tion of  the  parts  to  each  other  and  to  the 
whole  tactical  situation. 

This  brings  you  back  to  the  necessity  in 
arriving  at  tactical  values  of  having  the  seeing 
eye  and  understanding  mind.  As  we  found  in 
dealing  with  tactical  principles,  there  are  rules 
about  it  but  there  is  no  rule  of  thumb  that 
takes  the  place  of  personal  ability.  Studying 
the  relation  of  the  different  tactical  parts  of 
a tactical  situation  with  reference  to  each 
other  and  with  reference  to  the  whole  tactical 
situation  is  trying  to  find  out  the  relative  tacti- 
cal values.  In  reality,  it  is  trying  to  arrange 
things  to  get  decisive  fire  effect  in  the  most  sim- 

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Uniform  Tactical  Training 


pie  and  direct  manner  by  means  of  team  work 
executed  according  to  the  circumstances  and 
the  nature  of  the  terrain  as  determined  by  your 
grasp  of  the  situation  as  a whole. 

This  gives  you  the  idea  of  getting  at  relative 
tactical  values.  First  try  to  pick  out  the 
places  where  fire  effect  will  be  decisive.  Next, 
see  if  it  is  possible  by  team  work  to  get  the 
required  superiority  of  fire  there.  As  the 
different  related  parts  contribute  more  or  less 
to  this,  so  will  their  relative  tactical  values  be. 
You  might  say  relative  tactical  values  are  team 
work  values.  For  example,  one  person  can  take 
certain  ingredients  and  turn  out  a pie,  another 
person  can  take  the  same  ingredients  and  the 
best  he  can  turn  out  is  an  uneatable  mess. 

Can  you  conceive  of  anyone  who  does  not 
know  relative  tactical  values  getting  a correct 
grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as  a whole,  or 
of  habitually  acting  according  to  the  circum- 
stances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain,  or  of 


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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 

organizing  team  work,  or  of  getting  fire  superi- 
ority, or  of  using  simple  and  direct  methods 
and  plans.  Comparative  tactical  values  deter- 
mine the  tactical  value  of  one  thing  as  com- 
pared to  another. 

Relative  tactical  values  determine  the  tacti- 
cal value  of  the  whole  situation.  The  tactical 
value  of  the  whole  situation  is  seldom  the  sum 
of  the  individual  tactical  values  of  its  parts 
but  it  is  usually  the  (1)  product  and  sometimes 
the  (2)  dividend  of  their  tactical  use  as  com- 
bined for  tactical  action.  Good  team  work 
makes  a product  tactical  value  for  the  whole 
situation  and  when  you  shoot  up  your  own  side 
you  are  apt  to  be  making  a dividend  tactical 
value  for  the  whole  situation. 

A little  thought  will  show  that  a knowledge 
of  relative  tactical  values  is  essential  and  that 
the  manner  in  which  the  parts  are  employed  is 
vital.  It  is  the  way  in  which  the  combinations 
are  made  that  often  determines  profit  or  loss  in 


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relative  tactical  values.  Par.  1,  2 and  3 of 
combat  orders  express  the  commander’s  ideas 
of  relative  tactical  values.  It  is  readily  seen 
that  a mistake  in  relative  tactical  values  may 
be  serious.  A tactical  matter,  that  is  ordi- 
narily unimportant,  may,  in  some  tactical 
situations,  cause  defeat  by  its  relative  tactical 
value  not  being  realized.  A ford  thought  of  as 
of  little  importance,  a section  of  a country  or  a 
river  considered  impassable,  have  often  led  to 
defeat  because  they  were  not  seen  as  having 
high  relative  values.  A knowledge  of  compara- 
tive tactical  values  helps  you  to  pick  the  best 
tactical  methods  and  a knowledge  of  relative 
tactical  values  helps  you  to  make  the  best  com- 
bined use  of  them. 

To  narrow  the  field  for  determining  tactical 
values,  we  will  recall  that  actual  combat  is  car- 
ried on  by  lines,  that  your  men  are  trained 
for  frontal  attack  and  defense,  and  for  flank 
attack  and  defense.  Actual  combat  occurs 


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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


under  one  or  the  other  of  these  conditions. 
Nothing  was  said  about  the  size  of  the  com- 
mands further  than  that  large  commands 
required  deep  formations  and  that  small  com- 
mands, as  a rule,  did  not.  As  a matter  of  fact, 
when  it  comes  to  the  actual  combat  the  small 
command  has  its  front  and  flanks  to  look  after 
just  as  the  large  command  has,  and  both  are 
subject  to  the  same  fundamental  tactical  prin- 
ciples, so  the  way  a large  command  fights  is 
the  way  a small  command  fights.  About  the 
only  difference  is  in  time  and  space.  Keeping 
this  in  mind,  when  you  learn  comparative  and 
relative  tactical  values  in  the  small  command, 
you  can  use  that  learning  in  any  other  com- 
mand. This  does  not  mean  that  it  is  as  easy 
to  handle  a large  command  as  it  is  to  handle 
a small  command.  If  you  are  making  a front 
and  flank  attack  the  action  will  be  along  similar 
lines  whether  you  have  a platoon  or  a brigade. 
This  is  really  what  makes  uniform  training 


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possible  as  it  permits  all  to  get  easily  a common 
knowledge  and  understanding  of  the  situation 
as  a whole,  to  recognize  readily  the  tactical 
part  their  unit  is  to  play  or  be  a part  of  and 
thus  to  take  in  the  team  work  that  is  planned. 
A little  thought  will  show  you  that  tactical  val- 
ues are  a very  important  part  of  uniform  tacti- 
cal training. 


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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


CHAPTER  VI 

SENSIBLE  TACTICAL  TRAINING 

Tactical  training  is  learning  to  get  a correct 
grasp  of  tactical  situations  as  a whole.  A 
beginning  in  learning  to  form  a correct  grasp 
of  tactical  situations  is  made  by  being  able  to 
classify  them  as  either;  one  point  where  action 
is  only  frontal,  or  two  points  where  action  to 
the  front  and  one  flank  is  possible,  or  three 
points  where  action  to  the  front  and  both 
flanks  are  possible.  This  grasp  is  correct  as 
far  as  it  goes  but  it  is  not  complete.  The  next 
step  is  to  grasp  the  situation  as  to  its  differ- 
ences from  other  like  situations  of  its  class. 
This  does  not  complete  the  grasp.  The  next 
step  is  to  compare  the  tactical  value  of  your 
situation  against  the  tactical  value  of  tactical 
situations  like  this,  that  are  familiar  to  you. 
The  next  step  is  to  get  a correct  grasp  of  the 
relative  tactical  values  of  your  tactical  situa- 
tion. This  last  step  is  the  most  important  and 

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Uniform  Tactical  Training 


difficult  part  in  getting  a correct  grasp  of  the 
tactical  situation  as  a whole.  The  most  impor- 
tant thing  in  tactical  training  is  to  teach  men 
to  see  and  understand  and  to  keep  on  seeing 
and  understanding  the  tactical  situation  as  a 
whole  and  as  it  varies  as  a whole.  Practically 
no  one  is  ever  going  to  have  a complete  grasp 
of  the  whole  situation  and  it  is  not  particularly 
desirable  that  they  should,  as  by  trying  to  do 
this  you  are  almost  sure  to  overlook  the  fact 
that  details  are  only  important  according  to 
their  tactical  values.  Therefore,  the  real  thing 
to  do  is  to  try  and  determine  where  the  tactical 
values  are,  and  then  look  for  the  details  that 
affect  those  tactical  values.  What  you  want 
is  the  details  that  make  the  tail  go  with  the 
hide. 

Tactical  training  is  referred  to  as  intensive, 
short,  and  long.  Intensive  tactical  training  pro- 
duces mental  indigestion.  Short  tactical  train- 
ing produces  on  the  mind  about  what  short  ra- 

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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


tions  does  on  the  body.  Long  tactical  training, 
as  usually  practiced  by  regular  armies,  is  a 
pickling  process.  Intensive  training  usually 
produces  very  uneven  training.  Short  train- 
ing usualty  produces  training  that  lacks  com- 
pleteness and  finish.  The  long  or  pickling 
process  training  usually  produces  good  train- 
ing but  is  extravagant  as  to  both  time  and 
money.  Its  results  are  all  right  but  the  process 
has  no  limit  as  to  the  repetition  of  the  course 
of  instruction,  and,  therefore,  is  not  intelligent. 
It  is  important  to  decide  definitely  and  clearly 
as  to  what  you  need  before  deciding  as  to  what 
use  you  will  make  of  your  available  means. 
Conditions  usually  control  and  limit  the  extent 
or  manner  of  your  getting  what  you  need. 
Every  country  needs  adequate  preparedness  for 
national  defense.  No  country  has  ever  endured 
without  it.  The  first  need  for  adequate  pre- 
paredness for  national  defense  is  an  adequate 
reserve  of  trained  men. 


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Uniform  Tactical  Trmmn£ 

Training  this  reserve  will  require  two  things ; 
a uniform  tactical  training  system  and  com- 
petent tactical  instructors. 

The  training  system  of  a country  must  be 
so  designed  that  it  can  obtain  a sufficient  num- 
ber of  men  for  an  adequate  reserve.  Military 
training  is  not  compulsory  in  some  countries, 
such  countries  must  have  a training  system 
that  will  be  accepted  by  enough  volunteers  to 
organize  and  maintain  an  adequate  reserve. 

Evidently  the  training  system  in  a case  like 
this  must  be  of  such  a character  as  to  make  it 
possible  to  train  an  average  man  to  be  an 
effective  soldier  under  conditions  that  will  be 
accepted  by  a sufficient  number  of  the  citizens. 
It  is  like  this,  you  must  fix  the  enlistment  period 
to  get  the  men  and  then  fix  the  training  system 
to  get  the  best  training  in  the  time  available. 
A Ford  that  will  go  is  of  more  use  than  a Peer- 
less that  won’t.  To  find  out  the  longest  enlist- 
ment that  will  get  a sufficient  number  of  men 
for  your  adequate  reserve  is  the  important 
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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


thing.  To  do  this  you  ought  to  know  the 
fewest  number  of  training  hours  in  which  you 
can  train  eight  out  of  ten  men  to  be  effective 
soldiers.  This  will  enable  you  to  fix  on  about 
the  necessary  periodic  time. 

Most  countries  are  nationalizing  both  tacti- 
cal and  nontactical  defense.  This  requires  that 
an  adequate  reserve  be  composed  of  as  many 
physically  and  mentally  fit  citizens  as  possible. 
In  fact,  that  is  what  nationalized  defense  means. 
It  is  obvious  that  this  large  body  of  citizens 
should  not  be  withdrawn  from  their  usual  occu- 
pations any  longer  than  is  necessary  and  under 
ordinary  conditions  they  will  not  volunteer 
unless  this  condition  is  complied  with. 

The  longest  enlistment  period  that  will  get 
the  men  is  the  essential  point.  This  period  for 
the  best  results  should  be  continuous  but  it 
may  be  necessary  to  distribute  it  over  a number 
of  years  in  order  to  avoid  too  great  a periodic 
interruption  of  the  volunteer’s  usual  occupa- 
tion. 


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Uniform  Tactical  Training 


The  course  of  tactical  training  must  be 
designed  to  meet  the  enlistment  period  condi- 
tion. The  best  tactical  ability  should  be 
employed  in  determining  and  adapting  a tacti- 
cal course  to  the  enlistment  time. 

Reflection  will  show  that  under  short  enlist- 
ment conditions,  the  usual  experience  of  the 
regular  soldier  gives  no  useful  basis  for  calcu- 
lating how  long  it  takes  to  train  a soldier.  The 
only  useful  information  the  regular  can  give 
is  what  is  the  best  tactical  training  course  for 
a long  enlistment  period.  Periodic  time  is  a 
loose  term  when  referring  to  tactical  training 
time.  Tactical  training  time  should  alwaj's  be 
calculated  in  training  hour  time. 

There  are  two  other  things  to  be  considered ; 
the  capacity  of  the  pupil  and  the  ability  of 
the  instructor.  Of  these  two  the  ability  of  the 
instructor  is  the  most  important.  The  instruc- 
tor turns  the  raw  supply  into  the  finished 
product.  Product  must  be  up  to  standard. 
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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


Therefore  your  instructors  should  know  the  best 
way  to  produce  finished  product  that  is  up  to 
standard  or  better.  The  instruction  work  must 
be  organized  into  a course  of  subjects  to  be 
taught  or  trained.  It  should  be  systematized 
by  specifying  the  total  hour  time  to  be 
alloted  to  the  whole  course  and  to  each  subject 
of  the  course  and  the  day  and  hour  time  of 
each  subject.  In  fact,  it  should  be  organized 
and  systematized  just  as  any  ordinary  educa- 
tional course  is.  The  teaching  method  is  impor- 
tant and  depends  not  only  upon  the  instructor’s 
personal  capacity  to  reach  the  recruit’s  mind, 
his  capacity  to  see  the  value  in  the  teaching 
methods  of  others,  but  above  all  it  depends 
upon  his  ability  to  see  and  impress  upon 
the  recruit’s  mind  the  wide  meanings  of 
tactical  principles  and  the  ways  in  which  they 
unite,  govern,  and  relate  to  the  details  of  tac- 
tical action.  Progressive  tactical  instruction 
is  impossible  without  this.  Tactical  knowledge 

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Uniform  Tactical  Training 

to  be  progressive,  uniform,  and  thorough  must 
be  based  on  taking  the  five  tactical  principles 
of:  a correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as 
a whole,  act  according  to  circumstances  and 
the  nature  of  the  terrain,  team  work,  fire  superi- 
ority, simple  and  direct  plans  and  methods,  and 
referring  every  bit  of  tactical  training  to  them 
to  determine  how  it  conforms  to  their  require- 
ments and  is  governed  by  them. 

Tactical  instructors  and  tactical  pupils  are 
usually  muddled  up  and  lose  direction  in  a mass 
of  tactical  details.  They  have  no  tactical  light- 
house, compass,  or  landmarks  by  which  to  steer 
a progressive  tactical  course.  You  can  have 
a lighthouse,  compass,  and  landmarks  but  if 
you  do  not  know  how  to  make  use  of  them  you 
will  still  be  unable  to  steer  a progressive  tacti- 
cal course. 

The  business  of  the  tactical  instructor  is  to 
teach  the  reservist  how  to  use  the  five  great 
tactical  principles  in  understanding  and  carry- 

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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


ing  out  tactical  action.  As  is  the  ability  of 
the  soldier  to  plan  and  guide  his  tactical  action 
by  them  so  will  be  his  effectiveness. 

Something  was  said  about  the  wide  meaning 
of  the  five  great  tactical  principles.  Ask  your- 
self this:  Are  they  or  are  they  not  the  rules 

of  conduct  for  every  decent  human,  business, 
or  belief?  Whether  you  decide  in  the  affirma- 
tive or  negative  you  will  in  trying  to  decide, 
find  out  that  they  have  a much  wider  meaning 
than  you  realized. 

If  the  instructor  realizes  that  the  five  great 
tactical  principles  are  also  rules  of  conduct  for 
the  affairs  of  every-day  life  he  can  teach  their 
truth  and  application  by  using  examples  drawn 
from  the  pupils’  every-day  experiences.  Paral- 
leling the  unfamiliar  with  the  thoroughly  fami- 
liar is  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best  teaching 
method.  It  enables  the  pupil  to  understand  and 
remember  the  meaning  in  the  new  thing  because 
he  has  already  understood  it  in  the  familiar 

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Uniform  Tactical  Training 

thing.  If  a reservist  is  a carpenter  ask  him  if 
he  must  have  a more  or  less  correct  idea  or 
grasp  of  the  whole  building  before  he  starts 
working  on  it.  If  he  is  a farmer  ask  him  if 
he  would  put  out  crops  without  considering  the 
circumstances  and  the  terrain.  If  he  is  a 
manufacturer  ask  him  if  he  uses  team  work. 
If  he  is  just  a man  ask  him  if  it  is  a good  thing 
to  quit  in  the  stretch  or  to  come  in  with  his  best 
fire  superiority  punch.  Ask  any  of  them  if  it 
is  not  better  to  do  a thing  in  the  simplest 
manner  and  avoid  waste  motions  by  doing  it  in 
a direct  way.  These  are  just  to  illustrate. 
Suppose  we  try  to  be  a little  more  definite  as 
to  what  is  meant  by  sensible  tactical  training. 

A sensible  tactical  training  system  must  be 
one  that  requires  the  least  periodic  time  in  which 
our  instructors  can  train  eight  out  of  ten  of  the 
men  who  enlist  for  the  reserve  to  be  effective 
soldiers.  It  must  be  a system  in  which  the 
fundamental  rules  of  tactical  action  are  first 


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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


taught  as  the  basis  of  all  subsequent  tactical 
instruction.  By  doing  this  it  is  believed  that 
where  tactical  training  is  interrupted  the  pupil 
will  have  received  an  enduring  tactical  instruc- 
tion that  will  be  complete  as  far  as  it  goes  and 
that  will  best  prepare  him  to  understand  and 
place  any  future  tactical  training  he  may 


receive. 


Tactical  training  is  learning  to  get  a correct 
grasp  of  tactical  situations  as  a whole.  The 
pupil  will  first  be  taught  what  is  meant  by  tacti 
cal  situations  and  how  to  classify  them.  He 
will  be  taught  the  comparative  and  relative 
tactical  values  of  tactical  situations  after  he 
has  become  familiar  with  the  tactical  principles. 

Require  the  five  great  tactical  principles  to 
be  memorized.  Explain  that  they  are  the 
fundamental  rules  of  tactical  action  and  that 
the  first  four  give  the  sequence  for  procedure 
in  a tactical  situation  and  that  the  fifth  gives 
the  way  all  tactical  action  must  be  handled. 


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Uniform  Tactical  Training 

Explain  that  the  five  great  tactical  principles 
are  requirements  for  every  tactical  situation. 

Show  on  the  ground  how  the  tactical  princi- 
ples are  carried  out  and  how  they  are  violated. 
At  the  same  time  show  how  tactical  situations 
vary  from  each  other  because  one  is  better 
fitted  to  carry  out  the  tactical  principles  than 
the  other.  Show  how  in  tactical  exercises  the 
tactical  principles  were  carried  out  or  violated. 
Explain  how  the  decisive  points  were  deter- 
mined by  the  tactical  principles. 

Teach  and  practice  the  use  of  tactical 
methods  and  point  out  how  they  are  used  to 
carry  out  the  tactical  principles  in  the  different 
circumstances  and  terrain  of  different  tactical 
situations,  so  that  intelligent  discrimination 
may  be  made  in  their  use. 

Above  all  teach  from  first  to  last  to  test, 
plan,  and  determine  tactical  acts  by  being  clear 
as  to  their  being  strictly  in  accordance  with 
the  five  great  tactical  principles. 


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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


CHAPTER  VII 
DECISIVE  POINTS 

A correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as 
a whole  enables  you  to  act  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain.  The 
most  important  part  of  that  acting  is  getting 
team  work  that  will  give  you  the  fire  superi- 
ority at  the  decisive  points.  Eire  superiority 
will  be  required  at  the  decisive  points,  whether 
they  are  decisive  points  of  offense  or  of 
defense. 

The  key  to  the  whole  tactical  business  seems 
to  be  the  decisive  points.  A decisive  point  is 
one  upon  which  other  points  of  the  tactical 
situation  depend.  If  the  whole  tactical  situa- 
tion depends  upon  it,  it  will  be  THE  decisive 
point. 

A flank  is  one  of  the  best  known  decisive 
points.  A line  or  base  of  supply  is  another. 
A salient  is  often  a weak  point  that  is  also  some- 

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Uniform  Tactical  Training 


times  a decisive  one.  In  fact,  weak  points  are 
often  picked  as  decisive  because  they  promise  a 
local  success  and  a local  success  often  starts  a 
general  success. 

Skill  in  picking  decisive  points  requires  high 
military  ability.  It  also  often  requires  tactical 
intuition.  Tactical  intuition  is  such  a com- 
prehensive correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situa- 
tion as  a whole  as  enables  a leader  to  see  decisive 
points  that  are  often  partially  or  completely 
hidden  from  less  gifted  soldiers.  Napoleon  was 
frequently  able  to  state  just  what  plan  his 
opponent  would  follow.  Lee  did  the  same  thing. 
Grant  had  a very  clear  conception  as  to  what 
he  should  do  in  a tactical  situation.  He  is 
credited  with  devoting  very  little  thought  as  to 
what  his  opponent  would  or  would  not  do. 
Sheridan  and  Forrest  are  usually  credited  with 
“sensing”  decisive  points. 

Decisive  points  are  the  bolts  that  hold  the 
tactical  situation  together.  If  you  think  it 

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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


over  you  will  see  that  it  is  their  relative  tacti- 
cal  values  that  count. 

A decisive  point  may  be  almost  anything. 
Bad  roads,  short  rations,  poor  training,  fog, 
not  enough  artillery  or  the  wrong  kind,  a poor 
or  a good  subordinate,  etc.  It  is  not  neces- 
sarily their  actual  tactical  value  as  compared  to 
some  other  tactical  thing  that  counts,  but  it 
is  their  tactical  value  as  determined  by  their 
relation  to  the  parts  and  the  whole  of  the  tacti- 
cal situation  you  are  considering  that  deter- 
mines whether  they  are  or  are  not  decisive 
points.  The  relation  of  decisive  points  to  the 
parts  and  to  the  whole  tactical  situation  must 
be  preceived,  understood  and  valued  tactically 
before  it  can  be  acted  on  intelligently. 

The  leader  strives  to  get  a correct  grasp  of 
the  tactical  situation  as  a whole  in  order  to 
act  according  to  the  circumstances  and  the 
nature  of  the  terrain  in  getting  team  work 
which  will  give  him  fire  superiority  at  the 
decisive  points. 


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Uniform  Tactical  Training 

Analyze  the  above  and  it  means  the  leader 
gets  a correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation 
as  a whole  in  order  to  determine  the  decisive 
points  which  he  then  proceeds  to  attack  or 
defend  by  using  team  work  according  to  the 
decisive  point  circumstances  and  the  nature  of 
the  terrain. 

The  decisive  points  are  the  ones  that  he 
believes  are  the  doors  of  success  or  failure  in 
the  combat.  If  he  makes  a mistake  as  to  the 
decisive  points  his  work  is  apt  to  be  wasted. 
A commander  might  be  defined  as  one  who  pos- 
sesses the  art  of  selecting  decisive  points. 


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Five  Tactical  Principles  md 


CHAPTER  VIII 
TRAINING  RESERVISTS 
In  thinking  out  tactical  training  systems  and 
in  training  men  there  comes  a time  when  you 
become  dissatisfied  with  and  critical  as  to  your 
work.  This  usually  develops  most  when  you 
begin  to  look  for  results. 

Your  command  may  drill  well,  it  may  be 
interested  and  willing,  but  when  you  test  it  to 
find  to  what  extent  it  is  capable  of  doing  com- 
bined work,  without  having  each  step  of  the 
combination  explained,  and  without  explaining 
in  detail,  to  each  unit  commander  the  action 
of  his  command,  you  are  apt  to  find  your  train- 
ing unsatisfactory.  If  you  introduce  unex- 
pected features,  in  your  combined  action  test, 
there  is  usually  a failure  of  the  units  to  adjust 
to  it  in  that  prompt  and  certain  manner  which 
is  the  essential  mark  of  real  tactical  training. 


102 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


This  breakdown  in  tactical  action,  nearly 
always  comes  from  a failure  or  neglect  in  train- 
ing men  to  form  a correct  grasp  of  the  tacti- 
cal situation  as  a whole.  Par.  359,  I.  D.  R. 
The  main  effort  in  training  reserves  tactically, 
should  be  made  to  teach  them  how  to  form  a 
correct  grasp  of  tactical  situations  as  a whole. 
Next  to  explain,  and  illustrate  how,  the  tacti- 
cal situation  is  almost  certain  to  change  from 
time  to  time,  and  that  every  change  calls  for 
a new  correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation 
as  a whole.  It  is  only  by  watching  and  noting 
the  whole  tactical  situation  that  any  correct 
grasp  or  understanding  of  it  can  be  obtained. 

Tactical  action  is  almost  entirely  based  upon 
a correct  understanding  of  the  relations  that 
exist  between,  the  different  circumstances  and 
the  terrain,  that  make  it  a tactical  situation. 
Circumstances,  as  used  here,  is  a very  wide  term. 
It  practically  means  anything  that  affects  or 
may  affect  tactical  action.  It  may  be  troops 
103 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


or  their  condition,  numbers,  arms,  morale*  cloth- 
ing, weather,  bridges,  roads,  a drunken  or  sober 
officer,  rain,  snow,  in  fact,  anything  that  may 
or  might  affect  the  tactical  action  at  any  stage. 

The  object  of  all  military  training  is  to 
obtain  success  in  combat.  “The  soundest  basis 
for  a successful  combat  is  a correct  grasp  of 
the  tactical  situation  as  a whole.”  Military 
training  is  usually  conducted  with  little  or  no 
idea  of  teaching  officers  and  men  how  to  form 
a correct  grasp  of  tactical  situations  as  a whole. 
Usually  when  you  find  that  your  training  work 
is  not  showing  proper  tactical  results,  you  will 
find  that  you  have  neglected  to  require  your 
officers  and  men  to  keep  observing  the  tactical 
situation  as  a whole.  It  is  doubtful  if  officers 
and  men  can  be  taught  to  do  this  without  resort- 
ing to  severe  measures,  especially  where  military 
habits  have  been  formed  without  considering 
this  as  of  primary  importance.  Many  officers 
and  men  regard  military  training  methods,  not 


104 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


as  guides  to  tactical  action  but  as  fixed  rules 
of  tactical  action. 

Two  tactical  principles  have  been  mentioned 
in  the  order  of  their  importance:  (1)  To  form 
a correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as  a 
whole.  (2)  To  act  according  to  the  circum- 
stances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain.  Here 
are  two  more.  (3)  Team  work.  (4)  Fire 
superiority.  These  four  form  the  proper 
sequence  of  tactical  action  for  all  tactical  situa- 
tions and  they  are  subject  in  execution  to  a 
fifth.  All  plans  and  methods  for  carrying  them 
into  effect  must  be  simple  and  direct. 

All  worthwhile  military  training  is  built  up 
around  these  five  tactical  principles.  Probably 
not  one  officer  in  ten  realizes  this  as  a specific 
fact,  and  probably  not  one  enlisted  man  in  one 
hundred  is  aware  of  it. 

Real  military  training  of  reserves  through 
short  enlistments  is  hopeless  under  the  modern 
conditions  of  long  range  and  rapid  fire,  unless 


105 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


these  five  tactical  principles  are  made  the  con- 
scious, every-day  guides  of  the  tactical  training 
of  both  officers  and  men.  It  is  not  enough  to 
just  know  of  them,  as  all  officers  and  most  men 
do.  They  must  be  known  and  used  as  the  deter- 
mining factors,  by  which  your  tactical  work 
is  planned,  is  done,  and  is  tested  when  done. 

Team  work  is  planned  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain  in 
order  that  superiority  of  fire  may  be  gained 
at  the  places  where  it  will  exert  the  greatest 
effect  in  securing  success  in  combat.  Now  look 
the  five  tactical  principles  over.  They  are 
plain  and  anyone  can  comprehend  something 
of  what  they  mean.  They  express  clearly 
(what)  your  tactical  action  must  be,  but  they 
leave  it  all  to  you  as  to  (how)  to  proceed  to 
get  it. 

You  must  have  fire  superiority,  there  are  any 
number  of  ways  to  get  it,  and  they  are  all 
unreliable  unless  they  are  secured  by  team  work 
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Uniform  Tactical  Training 


planned  and  executed  according  to  the  circum- 
stances and  the  nature  of  the  terrain,  as  deter- 
mined by  a correct  grasp  of  the  situation  as  a 
whole,  and  the  whole  action  must  be  conceived 
and  expressed  in  a simple  and  direct  manner  or 
it  will  not  be  understood  well  and  promptly 
enough  to  be  executed. 

The  more  you  study  tactics,  the  more  you 
should  realize  that  you  are  studying  the  values 
of  the  relations  of  the  circumstances  and  ter- 
rain, that  make  up  each  tactical  situation.  In 
a tactical  situation,  the  actual  value  of  any 
circumstance  or  feature  of  the  terrain  is  not 
the  determining  thing  as  to  its  value  in  the  tac- 
tical situation.  The  determining  thing  as  to 
its  value  in  the  tactical  situation  is  its  rela- 
tion to  the  other  circumstances  and  features 
of  the  terrain.  From  this  it  is  proposed  to 
deduce  the  system  for  training  reservists. 

From  the  day  a reservist’s  military  educa- 
tion begins  until  the  day  it  ends,  he  should 
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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


be  taught  the  relation  of  each  part  of  it  to  the 
other  parts.  It  will  be  absolutely  necessary,  in 
teaching  relations,  to  first  impress  upon  the 
reservist  the  object  of  each  and  every  step  of 
his  military  education,  and  to  explain  to  him 
how  each  step  of  his  military  education,  accom- 
plishes its  particular  object. 

The  five  tactical  principles  will  be  used  as 
questions  in  testing  the  reservist  as  to  his  under- 
standing of  subjects.  For  example,  how  may 
right  face  assist  you  in  carrying  out  a correct 
grasp  of  a situation  as  a whole?  And  so  on 
through  the  other  four  tactical  principles. 

Two  principal  things  are  expected  to  be 
accomplished  by  this  training  method:  Tacti- 

cal principles  will  be  made  practical  use  of  in 
laying  out,  executing,  and  in  considering  the 
results  of  tactical  work,  and  the  reservist  will 
form  as  a fixed  mental  habit,  the  practice  of 
looking  at  tactical  situations  as  a whole,  and 
of  trying  to  determine  the  tactical  relations  of 

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Uniform  Tactical  Training 

his  tactical  action  to  the  tactical  actions  of 
others,  and  the  relation  of  the  tactical  actions 
of  others  to  his  tactical  action. 

Educate  is  defined  as:  to  impart  knowledge 
to ; cultivate  the  moral  or  intellectual  faculties ; 
instruct;  train.  Take  the  last  two  words  and 
we  have  educate  as  made  up  of,  instruction  and 
training. 

Military  education  can  be  considered  as  made 
up  of  military  instruction  and  military  train- 
ing. Let  us  consider  military  instruction  as 
dealing  with  teaching  miltary  truths  and  pro- 
cesses, and  military  training  as  dealing  with 
putting  those  military  truths  and  processes  into 
practice.  Military  instruction  informs  the 
mind  as  to  military  subjects,  comparatively  and 
relatively.  Military  training  practices  the 
mind  as  to  the  employment  of  military 
resources. 

There  are  three  stages  in  accomplishment; 
finding  out  what  is  to  be  done,  finding  out  how 
it  is  to  be  done,  doing  it. 

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Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


This  can  be  made  plainer,  in  getting  at  what 
military  education  should  seek  to  accomplish 
by  putting  it  this  way:  in  what  is  our  military 
education  to  be  bettered  or  changed,  how  is 
it  to  be  bettered  or  changed,  bettering  or  chang- 
ing it.  Continued  accomplishment  absolutely 
requires  a well-considered  objective.  The  well- 
considered  objective  of  military  instruction  and 
training  is  to  obtain  success  in  combat. 

“The  soundest  basis  for  a successful  combat 
is  a correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation  as 
a whole.”  A correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situa- 
tion as  a whole  consists  in  having  a correct 
knowledge  of  the  comparative,  and  especially  of 
the  relative  tactical  values  of  the  different  cir- 
cumstances and  terrain  features  which  make  up 
the  tactical  situation.  To  have  this  understood 
by  the  learner,  he  must  first  be  taught  to  see 
a tactical  situation  as  a whole,  by  some  system 
of  dividing  it  into  parts ; as  right  flank,  left 
flank,  center,  etc.  Second,  the  reservist  must 


110 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 

be  taught  the  relation  of  the  parts  to  each 
other  and  to  the  whole.  The  teaching  regard- 
ing relative  values  should  begin  at  the  beginning 
of  the  reservist’s  military  education  by  having 
the  object  of  each  educational  step  explained 
and  by  having  the  relation  of  each  educational 
step  to  other  educational  steps,  particularly 
explained. 

It  is  very  important  that  the  recruit  be 
taught  from  the  first  to  always  regard  his 
military  acts  as  related  to  the  acts  of  others 
and  to  understand  these  relations.  This  last 
is  the  foundation  of  training  him  to  form  a cor- 
rect grasp  of  tactical  situations  as  a whole. 

The  successful  practice  of  a profession  is 
good  proof  of  a good  professional  education. 
“The  art  of  leadership  consists  of  applying 
sound  tactical  principles  to  concrete  cases  on 
the  battle  field.”  In  times  of  peace  the  posses- 
sion of  this  art  will  be  best  evidenced  in  combat, 
field,  and  maneuver  exercises. 


Ill 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


You  cannot  rely  on  being  able  to  apply  a 
tactical  principle  to  a concrete  case  until  you 
know  it  consciously.  Tactical  principles  are 
generally  as  applicable  to  the  conduct  of  the 
ordinary  occupations  of  life  as  they  are  to 
combat. 

The  truth  of  tactical  principles  is  in  no  wise 
affected  by  the  means,  appliances,  or  methods 
used  in  combat. 

In  applying  tactical  principles,  a knowledge 
of  the  means,  appliances,  and  methods  to  be 
used  and  the  ability  to  use  them  effectively  is 
essential.  Many  other  kinds  of  knowledge  is 
also  essential,  a knowledge  of  comparative  and 
relative  tactical  values  is  always  essential.  To 
illustrate  the  variety,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  of 
team  work  and  fire  superiority  tactical  princi- 
ples being  put  into  effect,  or  applied,  by  using 
automobiles  as  a means  of  transportation  to 
carry  out  a front  and  flank  attack,  based  on 
information  secured  by  flying  machines.  A 


1 12 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


little  imaginative  consideration  of  this  will  show 
you  that  applying  tactical  principles  depends 
mostly  on  your  knowledge  of  and  ability  to 
employ  resources  in  a military  way. 

The  tactical  principles  are  limited  strictly 
to  stating  (what)  shall  be  done. 

The  art  of  leadership  is  really  the  ability 
and  skill  of  determining  (how)  the  circum- 
stances and  terrain  of  a combat  situation  shall 
be  used  to  carry  out  (what)  the  combat 
principles  require. 

Applying  as  used  here  means  putting  into 
practice.  So  we  have,  the  art  of  leadership 
consists  in  putting  sound  tactical  principles 
into  practice  on  the  battle  field.  It  is  obvious, 
if  we  accept  this  as  true,  that  all  military 
instruction  and  all  military  training  should  be 
definitely  and  consciously  related  to  appro- 
priate tactical  principles.  It  is  not  going  too 
far  to  say  that  tactics  is  the  art  of  putting 
tactical  principles  into  practice. 


113 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


Every  military  man  should  know  the  five 
tactical  principles.  Every  military  man  should 
be  taught  and  trained  to  regard  these  five  tacti- 
cal principles  as  the  laws  that  tell  him  what  to 
do.  He  should  be  taught  to  determine  every 
one  of  his  tactical  acts  by  finding  out,  how  and 
to  what  extent  they  carry  out  the  requirements 
of  these  five  tactical  principles. 

Tactics  is  the  art  of  putting  these  five  tacti- 
cal principles  into  practice.  The  higher  com- 
manders have  more  sources  of  information  than 
the  lower  commanders;  the  lower  commanders 
have  more  sources  of  information  open  than  the 
enlisted  men,  but  each  in  his  military  sphere, 
is  called  on,  to  be  able  to  put  each  one  of  these 
tactical  principles  into  practice,  and  each  should 
be  taught,  consciously,  to  do  so  by  direct  refer- 
ence to  these  five  tactical  principles. 

Tactical  training  is  reliable,  to  just  the 
degree  and  readiness  with  which  it  can  handle 
tactical  situations  as  a whole. 


114 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


Uniform  and  thorough  tactical  training  is 
based  on  putting  these  five  tactical  principles 
into  practice. 

Illustrating  Comparative  and  Relative 
Tactical  Values 

Take  the  figures  1,  2,  3,  4 and  0.  Compare 
1 and  2.  It  is  evident  2 as  compared  to  1 is 
twice  as  great  numerically.  You  can  go 
through  all  of  them  in  this  way  and  readily 
get  their  comparative  numerical  values. 

Comparative  tactical  values  are  not  as  simple 
as  this,  for  it  is  impossible  to  consider  them 
as  entirely  separate  from  all  other  tactical  con- 
ditions. 

Consider  the  figures  we  have  selected  as  a 
whole.  Express  this  whole  as  a number  12340. 
It  is  evident  that  any  alteration  in  the  posi- 
tion of  a figure  will  change  the  number  of  units 
expressed.  In  other  words,  using  the  same 
figures,  any  alteration  of  their  position  rela- 


115 


Five  Tactical  Principles  and 


tion  to  each  other  will  change  both  the  value 
of  the  figures  shifted  and  of  the  entire  number. 

If  the  number  is  changed  to  read  12304,  the 
relative  value  of  4 has  been  reduced  36  units. 
In  12034  by  putting  a valueless  thing  ahead 
of  things  having  real  value  you  have  reduced 
the  value  of  12340  306  units. 

Put  it  this  way  01234,  this  is  the  poorest 
way  you  could  arrange  the  number  to  express 
high  value.  Your  mistake  in  judging  values 
makes  a difference  of  41,976  units.  If  you  had 
formed  a correct  grasp  of  the  relative  values 
of  all  the  different  figures  in  the  number  you 
would  have  written  it  this  way,  43210.  Take 
01,234  from  43,210  and  you  have  41,976. 

It  is  something  like  this  when  you  do  not 
form  a correct  grasp  of  the  tactical  situation 
as  a whole,  that  is,  when  you  do  not  form  a 
correct  estimate  of  the  comparative  and  rela- 
tive tactical  values,  of  the  different  circum- 
stances and  terrain,  that  make  up  the  tactical 
116 


Uniform  Tactical  Training 


situation.  If  you  pick  out  something  in  the 
tactical  situation  which  ordinarily  has  no  tac- 
tical value  of  itself,  and  make  it  important 
without  making  it  add  something  to  the  value 
of  the  other  tactical  points  of  the  situation, 
that  is,  relate  it  so  that  it  does  not  help, 
you  weaken  the  whole  situation,  but  if  you  are 
skillful  enough  to  use  it  so  that  it  multiplies 
the  tactical  values  of  the  factors  according  to 
their  comparative  real  worth  you  help  the  whole 
situation.  If  you  place  and  use  your  tactical 
points  according  to  their  real  value  in  the  situa- 
tion, you  evidently  must  have  a correct  grasp 
of  the  tactical  situation  as  a whole  and  are  in 
a position  to  get  the  greatest  results  from  your 
tactical  work. 

Do  not  get  the  idea  that  a knowledge  of  com- 
parative tactical  values  is  sufficient  to  enable 
you  to  pick  out  the  relative  tactical  values  of  a 
tactical  situation.  It  is  true  that  the  higher  a 
tactical  thing  is  in  comparative  tactical  value, 
117 


Five  Tactical  Principles 


the  higher  it  is  ordinarily  in  relative  tactical 
value.  Comparative  tactical  values  enable  you 
to  get  an  idea  of  the  real  every-day  worth  of 
tactical  things. 

Relative  tactical  values  depend  on  the  way 
tactical  things  having  comparative  tactical 
values  are  related  to  each  other. 

In  a tactical  situation  you  naturally  try  to 
arrange  things  to  make  the  fullest  use  of  your 
greatest  comparative  tactical  value  element.  To 
illustrate:  You  make  a flank  attack  with  a part 
of  your  force  to  start  the  enemy  to  retreating 
in  order  to  give  your  main  body,  that  is  mak- 
ing the  frontal  attack,  the  opportunity  of  des- 
troying him.  You  really  planned  the  flank 
attack  to  give  the  main  force  attack  a chance 
to  act  to  best  advantage. 


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